Feb 29, 2024
What’s the matter with Kamala Harris, exactly?
Is Biden too old to run for a second term? I mean, there is a 93-year-old Irish man who regularly breaks indoor rowing records, he seems just fine and is 12 years older than Joe Biden. On the other hand, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark abdicated on New Year’s Eve 2023 and she is only 83. Whatever challenges that role may present, it is not as challenging as being President of the United States. So, why are people so worried about Biden’s age?
The question of how old is too old is maybe best dealt with elsewhere (and here and here). However, one of the main talking points thrown out there against Biden running for a second term is what would happen if, God forbid, he dies in office. Based on the 25th amendment of the US Constitution, the next in line is the Vice President, Kamala Harris.
And even if Biden decides to willingly step down, retire, and not accept the nomination, the alternative might be that Kamala Harris will step into the slot. Even Nikki Haley recently commented that she thought the 2024 race would be between her and Harris, in the end.
And Kamala Harris running for or being President is the single worst thing that could happen to the United States if you believe not only the Republicans (here and also here) but even those on the left seem leery of letting Vice President Harris do much more than make goodwill tours.
All of this begs the question, what, exactly, is so bad about Kamala Harris? One might chalk much of the commentary around her to simple racism, sexism, or both. But when reasonable people say Harris is a mistake, what is going on?
Has she made some gaffes as Vice President? Well, yes, sure. There is not a politician alive (or dead, for that matter) who didn’t say something the wrong way or even said something off-hand that was just plain wrong. Is Harris worse than average? There does not seem to be much evidence that she is particularly bad at communicating. Some initial gaffes framed her as some sort of gaffe machine, but many of the criticisms seem to be more about her political outlook than incorrect statements. Other times criticism seems more like policing behavior than an actual problem. Honestly, she has a strange laugh and means she is not up for being President?
Has she voiced unpopular or controversial opinions as Vice President? Probably. Here perhaps we get closer to what the real issue is. Her portfolio as VP has included immigration reform and voting reform, two areas of very special interest to Republicans. Both of these issues are no-win situations. Immigration has turned into a political football (or rather, more of one) and Harris is caught in the middle. The GOP has made much hay of criticizing Harris over these issues.
So, if she hasn’t really done anything terrible over the past couple of years, maybe the issue is that she simply hasn’t done anything much at all? Generally being Vice President is a pretty thankless, do-nothing job to begin with. A good VP stays out of trouble, out of sight, and out of mind. They might do some lifting here and there around elections and be ready to travel around the world as a sort of second-place prize for places and events not quite ready for the real deal of a presidential visit. So one might expect very little from any particular Vice President.
But Harris has been active on a surprising number of fronts as Vice President. She tackled immigration policy convincingly by addressing long-term problems in Mexico and Guatemala. Unfortunately for Harris, the recent influx of migrants is coming more from Caribbean-facing states like Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela. One might fault Harris for not being able to predict the future, but her success in finding funding for her initial plan shows a willingness to see things through, a vanishingly rare trait in politics these days.
She has also proved herself to be a capable representative of the United States. Her recent attendance at the Munich Security Conference saw her trying her best to reassure Europe of US support for Ukraine, underscoring her foreign policy chops even if Congress might have other thoughts. She clearly sees the need for a strong United States on the international stage.
But she has also been very active on the domestic policy front as well- tackling voter reform with some gusto, for example, only to see it fall apart when key members of her own party defected to a watered-down electoral reform bill. It is hard to fault her for this kind of breakdown, after all as VP she isn’t the head of the party, Biden as President is.
Harris’ real kryptonite may be polling. Harris’s approval rate normally is in negative territory, hitting a high of 57% unfavorable back just as recently as December, but polls this calendar year find her disapproval hovering around the low 40s (but her barely budging out of the mid-30s). Obviously, poor polling numbers are a problem for someone who might run in an election, but right now Harris is not running and has been more or less out of the public eye. If she were to mount some sort of campaign poll numbers might change.
Over all, there is a lot to recommend Harris as a political operative, but is she ready for a prime-time presidential campaign? It seems like she has a lot to offer once people pay attention to what she is doing. A better question might be, is Biden ready?
Dave Richards Politics 