Daily Times

Did Joe Biden take the correct course of action when, last Sunday, he decided to stand down from the presidency and not seek a second term of office? He then reverted to the default position of recommending his vice president to succeed him. Whether or not Kamala Harris will be his replacement, Biden’s wisdom or lack thereof in following Lyndon Baines Johnson’s example by not accepting his party’s nomination will remain unknowable until after November 5th, election day.

Biden was under intense pressure from two former presidents, a Speaker Emerita of the House of Representatives, the bulk of the Democratic elites and many party regulars and the public to allow a fitter, younger person to take on Trump. Had Biden not had such a disastrous performance in the June 27th debate with Trump, it is moot as to whether he would have been forced to commit political hari kiri. But it is better for the Democrats that this happened before the Nominating Convention and not during the Fall just before the election.

Imagine the chaos caused arising from having to replace the top of the ticket at that point. No political thriller has captured this scenario. And nothing in the Constitution or American jurisprudence is prepared for this condition.

Is Harris a Harry Truman who will prove inspired as a successor?

Thus, for the next weeks, speculation, rumour and guesswork will dominate reactions to this extraordinarily unprecedented moment in American history. For the moment, Harris seems the favourite. With the Chicago Nominating Convention less than a month away, alacrity in finding the new nominee has greater urgency, if only to demonstrate coherence in what appears to be a profoundly divided political party. The longer this process takes, the fewer days the campaign will have to get underway.

While some believe that Harris is the Democrat best suited to beat Donald Trump, is she? As of right now, Republicans will be paying scores of law school students to do opposition research on Harris that uncovers vulnerabilities and weaknesses even in this tawdry environment that could prove explosive. Whether these allegations are true or false makes little difference.

Harris does have an interesting background. The daughter of a Jamaican-born PhD father and an Indian-born medical researcher, after their divorce, she lived with her mother and younger sister. Harris would graduate from Howard University and then from the University of California’s Hastings Law School. After serving as a San Francisco District Attorney, she was twice elected California’s Attorney General and then ran and won California’s junior senatorship in 2017.

Identified as an up-and-coming Democrat, Harris married Attorney Douglas Emhoff in 2014. Emhoff is Jewish. His two adopted daughters refer to Harris as “Momala” reflecting the composition of this very mixed marriage. Whether that status will help or hurt the Harris ticket politically is unclear. Ironically, Trump faces a parallel issue.

His daughter Ivanka has converted to Judaism. Her children are Jewish. So far, that has not had any effect. We can hope the same applies to Harris.

Sadly, Harris has only one distinguished accomplishment. That is as President of the Senate. Harris has cast more tie-breaking votes than any of her predecessors. That was John Adams.

As vice president. Harris has few triumphs. In terms of being a good campaigner and delivering a strong and positive message, Harris has as much or more trouble with the English language as the current and former president. She speaks in what has been described as “salad sentences” with a bit from here and a bit from there.

Harris has the unfortunate quirk or tendency to cackle in talking as if she were a giggling grade school student using laughter to reinforce her message along with moving her head up and down to encourage agreement. Among her first duties as vice president, Harris was assigned to the top position of overseeing the administration’s policies on the border and migration crisis when millions of transients sought refuge in the US. Sadly, that failed. The immigration crisis only grew worse. And Harris slowly detached herself from what had never been a highly visible role.

In assignments since Harris has not compiled a notable record. It is uncertain why Biden picked her for VP. As his VP, unlike Barack Obama who favoured Hillary Clinton over his own to run in 2016 and lost, Biden was loyal. But will loyalty translate to victory?

Is Harris a Harry Truman who will prove inspired as a successor? Or is she John McCain’s Sarah Palin? We will soon find out.

The writer is a senior advisor at Washington, DC’s Atlantic Council and a published author.