If she were a white man, there would no contest - a prosecutor/attorney general/senator/vice president versus an inherited money, serial philanderer, 6x bankrupted, lost election insurrectionist.
But I’m glad she is who she is. She’s successful despite misogyny and racism. That grit will make her a better president.
After I heard her speech, I thought "she must read The Bulwark." It was really good! I'm a life-long Californian and no huge Kamala fan, but I hope she wins in November. I'm happy to see the enthusiasm about her campaign and how the Democratic party is lining up to support her.
We all need to recognize that– if and when we defeat Trump this November, we will have won a crucial battle. But not the entire political war. That war won’t be over any time soon.
All of the white men now mentioned as potential VP nominees to campaign alongside Kamala Harris are worthy candidates for that position. But. I strongly believe there is another man who might be the best man of all. That man is the retired four-star General Mark Milley.
No one his age has a longer, dedicated history of service to our nation and fearless defense of our Constitution. He is a good communicator, has a master's degree in international relations and has a reputation for being very well read on a host of topics, especially history. Does he want the job? Likely not. But being “drafted”by Harris and the Democratic Party to serve as VP would make him the all the more honorable and well-received VP candidate in the eyes of non-MAGA GOP voters and GOP-leaning independent voters.
He is also perhaps the toughest potential campaigner, the one least vulnerable to attacks from either JD Vance or Trump. And the one best able to attack the GOP Congress for its withholding military promotions for months in order to deprive women in the military their reproductive rights.
His national name recognition is not as high as that of VP Harris. But it may well be equal to or higher than that of the rest of the Democratic candidates-in-waiting.
Yes, half of the voters may– right now– not remember who he is. But by November they will know him, admire him and trust his leadership as much or more than they will any other potential VP candidates. General Milley’s long service has been to the entire nation– all 50 states. With him on the ticket, the potential for major coattails will be strong. General Milley has the skill set and the character needed. He is a highly intelligent and skilled leader of global rank. Milley's career outside of the Party will make it easier for party factions and moderate Republicans to unite the new administration, more so than other potential VP nominee.
Furthermore, nominating General Milley would be an unexpected campaign event – a really big surprise and would generate a lot of interest and excitement throughout the campaign. The media would have a lot of interest in informing the voters about his history and his political positions. It would also sew confusion in the ranks of the Trump campaign and in Trump and Vance themselves.
If Harris would choose him, she would immediately show the voters that she is ready and able to make tough and smart decisions. A lot of the noise about her competency would be tamped way down by that surprise decision.
Milley has an added benefit to the strength of the entire Party. Because he does not hold any office unlike Senator Mark Kelley and the several governors in swing states, his nomination would NOT recreate a vacancy in a critical seat that would have to be filled in a special election.
Going forward, a Vice-President Milley would provide some of the most crucial skills and knowledge and courage needed to defend our Constitution and nation over the next four years of political and potential, violent upheaval from the far right-reactionary domestic enemies of our Constitution.
I cannot believe how much BETTER I feel about the switch to Harris. My mother, on the other hand, is absolutely pissed. She feels that Biden has been screwed because of "ageism" and she also believes that the polls are all wrong and that Biden wasn't losing.
I've tried to explain to her that Biden HAS been losing this race, all year, and that he's unable to execute a vigorous campaign because he HAS NOT BEEN DOING IT. She just doesn't want to hear it.
But she will be voting for the Dem ticket, no matter what.
I don’t know how old you are or how old your mother is. Yesterday my son was trying to tell me that Biden got thrown under the bus on June 27, and that Kamala Harris did it on purpose. Meanwhile, I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about Kamala, but I also would have voted for Joe.
My son is 33 and I am 56. I usually take what my son says with grain of salt. He kind of dabbles in conspiracy theories. Yesterday, and I hope he was joking, he suggested to me that Biden was already dead.
Everything could not be better. Kamala will win. I saw her in Milwaukee this week. Such a normal crowd of decent people. Buzz doesn’t cover it. People of all ages are giddy and the vibe is electric. County parties are besieged with volunteers. Trump and Vance are creepy freaks.
On top of my gratitude list is that Vance is not my son-in-law. His wife must not have dated enough. I wonder when it will dawn on her.
The reason they waited this long for Joe to back out was because they wanted to wait until after TFG picked his smug little VP and the RNC was over. If they had done it before, he might have picked someone else. Better to let them have THEIR stupid coronation first.
Plus they announced it Sunday afternoon, when all the Sabbath gasbags (thanks Calvin Trillin!) on TV had gone off to brunch. Nobody seems to get that, except John Fugelsang on Sirius XM Progress.
Needing a little time to absorb the bhagyness of what she was taking on... great point JVL.
"Frame the choice as “striding into the future” vs. “being dragged into the past.”" In the picture of Kamala at the top of the post and in several other pictures I have seen of her in the past few days her "purposeful and confident stride" is something that has popped out at me.
"Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and the rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?"
Since July 1 I have strongly felt that a framing around "rule of law" would be far and away more powerful than democracy. As long as Republican voters get the benefit of gerrymandering, voter purges, voter suppression etc they will be at best mildly concerned about democracy. Almost everyone, on some level, is concerned with the rule of law.
The timing is turning out to be excellent - at least so far. I think JVL’s reference to the weight of her decision - carrying the shield for democracy- may be a bit overstated. I am not sure Kamala Harris would have contemplated how difficult it will be - yes, she must have a string ego. I think decisions like these are made because - of course I want to be President of the U.S. - I can do this.
That sad, once the decision is made, “buyer’s remorse” may set in for someone like Harris, who is not a sociopath (like Trump). A thoughtful person will contemplate their “legacy” and what does it look like if they lose? Trump becomes president, the U.S. devolves into an autocracy and worse. Her legacy is she lost, so she is a footnote to the decline of the greatest nation on the planet. Not good.
I believe her campaign launch could not have gone better. That speech was terrific and we are already seeing hashtags “I understand the assignment” across social media. I posted a picture of my grandchildren - four girls and two boys - my wife and I love them dearly; we want to ensure they have all the rights we had and a bright future. We understand the assignment!
The Harris campaign is the future. As JVL suggested - the future is now! They must keep the message simple, identify five (or so) key policy initiatives, and repeat them like a drum. Harris is not “saving democracy”, she is leading the Nation into the future.
The pressure on Harris is immense. She has to wonder whether any awkward gesture, ill-formed statement, graceless response or momentary lapse might be the instant in which she loses the election, and our democracy with it. She has to maintain constant poise while she is exhausted, and appear natural with all of that. No matter how long she has thought of herself as a President, the stakes in this election mean the job ahead of her is harder than she could ever have imagined.
I am in awe of her courage in accepting that burden, and I am in awe of Joe Biden's grace in passing the torch to her.
Totally agree with JVL, w/o any knowledge of Harris’ personality or ego. I tend project my own vision normality onto her, tempered by the reality that high level elected officials likely fall well to the right side of a normal distributions of ego size and perceptions of their abilities. But they typically realize the enormity of tasks, based on my working with a number of them (albeit at the state level).
In this instance, it stretches beyond America and Americans, as I think about the implications for the poor Ukrainians and others in eastern Europe, as well as Taiwan, Korea, etc. Truly sobering for anyone, no matter the size of your ego or misperceptions about your capacity. In Harris’s case, the handicap (illustrated by Clinton’s 2016 fate) of being not only female but black surely heightens that anxiety. Oy.
As Shakespeare wrote, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." This is Harris' moment to take what has been thrust upon her.
Excellent analysis, JVL. Your perspective about how long it took Joe B to decide, was your most trenchant point. Joe will go down in history as one of the great ones.
If she were a white man, there would no contest - a prosecutor/attorney general/senator/vice president versus an inherited money, serial philanderer, 6x bankrupted, lost election insurrectionist.
But I’m glad she is who she is. She’s successful despite misogyny and racism. That grit will make her a better president.
Kamala puts Maga into relief as joyless, weird, and rancorous.
A couple months saw the bumper sticker:
"Any functioning human '24"
She's a lot of things, but at least she's that.
After I heard her speech, I thought "she must read The Bulwark." It was really good! I'm a life-long Californian and no huge Kamala fan, but I hope she wins in November. I'm happy to see the enthusiasm about her campaign and how the Democratic party is lining up to support her.
We all need to recognize that– if and when we defeat Trump this November, we will have won a crucial battle. But not the entire political war. That war won’t be over any time soon.
All of the white men now mentioned as potential VP nominees to campaign alongside Kamala Harris are worthy candidates for that position. But. I strongly believe there is another man who might be the best man of all. That man is the retired four-star General Mark Milley.
No one his age has a longer, dedicated history of service to our nation and fearless defense of our Constitution. He is a good communicator, has a master's degree in international relations and has a reputation for being very well read on a host of topics, especially history. Does he want the job? Likely not. But being “drafted”by Harris and the Democratic Party to serve as VP would make him the all the more honorable and well-received VP candidate in the eyes of non-MAGA GOP voters and GOP-leaning independent voters.
He is also perhaps the toughest potential campaigner, the one least vulnerable to attacks from either JD Vance or Trump. And the one best able to attack the GOP Congress for its withholding military promotions for months in order to deprive women in the military their reproductive rights.
His national name recognition is not as high as that of VP Harris. But it may well be equal to or higher than that of the rest of the Democratic candidates-in-waiting.
Yes, half of the voters may– right now– not remember who he is. But by November they will know him, admire him and trust his leadership as much or more than they will any other potential VP candidates. General Milley’s long service has been to the entire nation– all 50 states. With him on the ticket, the potential for major coattails will be strong. General Milley has the skill set and the character needed. He is a highly intelligent and skilled leader of global rank. Milley's career outside of the Party will make it easier for party factions and moderate Republicans to unite the new administration, more so than other potential VP nominee.
Furthermore, nominating General Milley would be an unexpected campaign event – a really big surprise and would generate a lot of interest and excitement throughout the campaign. The media would have a lot of interest in informing the voters about his history and his political positions. It would also sew confusion in the ranks of the Trump campaign and in Trump and Vance themselves.
If Harris would choose him, she would immediately show the voters that she is ready and able to make tough and smart decisions. A lot of the noise about her competency would be tamped way down by that surprise decision.
Milley has an added benefit to the strength of the entire Party. Because he does not hold any office unlike Senator Mark Kelley and the several governors in swing states, his nomination would NOT recreate a vacancy in a critical seat that would have to be filled in a special election.
Going forward, a Vice-President Milley would provide some of the most crucial skills and knowledge and courage needed to defend our Constitution and nation over the next four years of political and potential, violent upheaval from the far right-reactionary domestic enemies of our Constitution.
I cannot believe how much BETTER I feel about the switch to Harris. My mother, on the other hand, is absolutely pissed. She feels that Biden has been screwed because of "ageism" and she also believes that the polls are all wrong and that Biden wasn't losing.
I've tried to explain to her that Biden HAS been losing this race, all year, and that he's unable to execute a vigorous campaign because he HAS NOT BEEN DOING IT. She just doesn't want to hear it.
But she will be voting for the Dem ticket, no matter what.
I don’t know how old you are or how old your mother is. Yesterday my son was trying to tell me that Biden got thrown under the bus on June 27, and that Kamala Harris did it on purpose. Meanwhile, I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about Kamala, but I also would have voted for Joe.
I'm in my late 40's and my mother is in her early 70's.
My son is 33 and I am 56. I usually take what my son says with grain of salt. He kind of dabbles in conspiracy theories. Yesterday, and I hope he was joking, he suggested to me that Biden was already dead.
I'm sorry. The asinine lies on the internet have claimed many a good person.
Everything could not be better. Kamala will win. I saw her in Milwaukee this week. Such a normal crowd of decent people. Buzz doesn’t cover it. People of all ages are giddy and the vibe is electric. County parties are besieged with volunteers. Trump and Vance are creepy freaks.
On top of my gratitude list is that Vance is not my son-in-law. His wife must not have dated enough. I wonder when it will dawn on her.
I suspect she is in on the "joke" and is ok with it...like she knows this is about getting power
I agrée with JVL, the timing was perfect even if it wasn’t exactly planned.
I love the Satchel Paige clip.
The reason they waited this long for Joe to back out was because they wanted to wait until after TFG picked his smug little VP and the RNC was over. If they had done it before, he might have picked someone else. Better to let them have THEIR stupid coronation first.
Plus they announced it Sunday afternoon, when all the Sabbath gasbags (thanks Calvin Trillin!) on TV had gone off to brunch. Nobody seems to get that, except John Fugelsang on Sirius XM Progress.
Needing a little time to absorb the bhagyness of what she was taking on... great point JVL.
"Frame the choice as “striding into the future” vs. “being dragged into the past.”" In the picture of Kamala at the top of the post and in several other pictures I have seen of her in the past few days her "purposeful and confident stride" is something that has popped out at me.
"Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and the rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?"
Since July 1 I have strongly felt that a framing around "rule of law" would be far and away more powerful than democracy. As long as Republican voters get the benefit of gerrymandering, voter purges, voter suppression etc they will be at best mildly concerned about democracy. Almost everyone, on some level, is concerned with the rule of law.
The timing is turning out to be excellent - at least so far. I think JVL’s reference to the weight of her decision - carrying the shield for democracy- may be a bit overstated. I am not sure Kamala Harris would have contemplated how difficult it will be - yes, she must have a string ego. I think decisions like these are made because - of course I want to be President of the U.S. - I can do this.
That sad, once the decision is made, “buyer’s remorse” may set in for someone like Harris, who is not a sociopath (like Trump). A thoughtful person will contemplate their “legacy” and what does it look like if they lose? Trump becomes president, the U.S. devolves into an autocracy and worse. Her legacy is she lost, so she is a footnote to the decline of the greatest nation on the planet. Not good.
I believe her campaign launch could not have gone better. That speech was terrific and we are already seeing hashtags “I understand the assignment” across social media. I posted a picture of my grandchildren - four girls and two boys - my wife and I love them dearly; we want to ensure they have all the rights we had and a bright future. We understand the assignment!
The Harris campaign is the future. As JVL suggested - the future is now! They must keep the message simple, identify five (or so) key policy initiatives, and repeat them like a drum. Harris is not “saving democracy”, she is leading the Nation into the future.
The pressure on Harris is immense. She has to wonder whether any awkward gesture, ill-formed statement, graceless response or momentary lapse might be the instant in which she loses the election, and our democracy with it. She has to maintain constant poise while she is exhausted, and appear natural with all of that. No matter how long she has thought of herself as a President, the stakes in this election mean the job ahead of her is harder than she could ever have imagined.
I am in awe of her courage in accepting that burden, and I am in awe of Joe Biden's grace in passing the torch to her.
Good point. I had not thought of the heavy burden part but she seems committed to embracing it.
Totally agree with JVL, w/o any knowledge of Harris’ personality or ego. I tend project my own vision normality onto her, tempered by the reality that high level elected officials likely fall well to the right side of a normal distributions of ego size and perceptions of their abilities. But they typically realize the enormity of tasks, based on my working with a number of them (albeit at the state level).
In this instance, it stretches beyond America and Americans, as I think about the implications for the poor Ukrainians and others in eastern Europe, as well as Taiwan, Korea, etc. Truly sobering for anyone, no matter the size of your ego or misperceptions about your capacity. In Harris’s case, the handicap (illustrated by Clinton’s 2016 fate) of being not only female but black surely heightens that anxiety. Oy.
As Shakespeare wrote, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." This is Harris' moment to take what has been thrust upon her.
Excellent analysis, JVL. Your perspective about how long it took Joe B to decide, was your most trenchant point. Joe will go down in history as one of the great ones.