Dem
47
GOP
53
An article in the New York Intelligencer by David Freedlander is entitled: "Like It or Not, Kamala Harris is the Front Runner." It describes her in glowing terms and excuses her 2020 and 2024 failed runs. It quotes Democratic strategist Minyon Moore, who said: "She's been listening to the American people and really trying to figure out what's impacting them and how she can be of service to them."
Now there is some pushback from a Biden insider, Michael LaRosa, who was Jill Biden's press secretary. Put very bluntly, what's bothering people is affordability and Harris can best be of service to them by getting out of the way for a new generation. LaRosa said: "She follows. She doesn't take risks. She calculates. She doesn't answer questions, she equivocates. She's got to get over that if she wants to make a connection with people, but I don't think she's going to get a third at-bat."
We agree with that. Harris is old and boring, not to mention she is very closely tied to a president who is perceived as being old and boring. Oh, and she is a woman. They are batting .000 so far and Democrats are desperate to win in 2028. Harris is going to have to compete with some new faces. If elected, she would be eligible for Social Security on Day 1. That is not what the Democrats are looking for and they will have plenty of choices who are younger and a lot more exciting. If they want a fighter, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) will be available. If they want to break some new barrier, Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) may be available. If they don't mind an older guy who will attack Donald Trump as a corrupt tyrant and the Republicans as his enablers, maybe Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) will shoot for the stars.
Harris' main claim to fame now is that she is well known. But for what? She was a senator. Is there a "Harris Act" that did something important? What did she accomplish as vice president? Freedlander seems to be forgetting that Harris is precisely what the Democrats do not want right now, and that when pollsters ask Democrats: "Who is your preferred presidential candidate?" her name pops into their mind first substantially because of name recognition. But when the campaign starts and there are debates, other candidates will show a lot more fire. We have no doubt that Harris wants to be president. It's just that not so many other people also want that. Early in the 2024 campaign, many Black women were worried that if Harris ran and lost, no Black woman would be even considered for a generation. Even those women might not be on her side now. Some day an exciting woman of color will make a serious run, but it is more likely to be Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) than Harris. (V)