It has been a week since the second Democratic Party’s introductory debate, and a week since Kamala Harris made a name for herself at the expense of Joe Biden.
My initial response was that Kamala Harris really showed Joe Biden as the old out-of-touch deal-making politician that many of us suspected was the case, unable to think on his feet, unfit to lead, a man whose time had come and gone many years ago.
Also, I was initially impressed with the ferocious energy that Kamala Harris showed in her premeditated and very personal attack on Joe Biden, the tough prosecutorial flair that made it seem that she could be the people’s champion in the Democratic effort to unseat President Trump.
As a woman of color, Kamala Harris checks off two important presidential criteria of the progressive part of the Democratic party – if only she were gay or disabled she would satisfy just about everyone, but one has to settle for what one can get, I suppose.
Over the past week Kamala Harris has ascended in the polls and raised a great deal of money, all on the strength of her performance.
But I have been thinking a bit more about her actions, and I have come to the conclusion that she basically sucker-punched Joe Biden with the race card. Her premeditated attack had nothing to do with the issue at hand, whatever that was. This was a made-for-TV kangaroo court at its finest – Kamala Harris as judge, jury and executioner. At least if this had been an actual trial Joe Biden would have been given an opportunity to prepare a defense. Anyone who has been sucker-punched knows that it can be difficult to keep your bearings and focus after you have been hit. Looked at from this perspective, Joe Biden was able to survive to the end of the round, and now he is back in the fight.
Kamala Harris did an excellent job of relating the race card to her own life as a young girl, fighting back her crocodile tears in a manner befitting the finest of soap opera actors. She and her team certainly deserve an Emmy for this production and scripted performance.
We all know what Joe Biden has done in his career in public service, Senator and Vice President. He has a long record, most of which should be acceptable to the progressives within the Democratic Party, but some aspects of which don’t look so good in hindsight. That is to be expected considering how much the country has changed over the past 45 years. Where he stands today and what he believes today is infinitely more important.
To be fair, we don’t really know where Joe Biden wants to lead this country, and he needs to tell us sooner than later. Having years of experience and disagreeing with President Trump is not enough. He needs to show us his vision of something better as well as his endurance and energy if he is to deserve another shot at the presidency.
That being said, do we really want someone as president who doesn’t fight fair and will use the worst of our history to win at all costs? Kamala Harris needs to show us that this is not who she is. She needs to tell us what she stands for, what she believes, and where she wants to lead this country. Successfully prosecuting President Trump is not going to be enough for the country. And not to make a big deal of it, but she has only been a Senator for two years. What has she accomplished in this time? What is her record?
I am not convinced that Kamala Harris has the vision, the experience, or the leadership ability to be an effective president. She has a lot to prove, at least to me.