Kamala Harris or Susan Rice?
Joe Biden has either narrowed down his choice for running mate down to two women or he hasn't.
The gang at Axios reports that, despite earlier promises that we’d know the Democratic Vice Presidential pick this week, we’re now going to have to wait until the convention kicks off ten days from now. But it’s probably down to Kamala Harris or Susan Rice.
Confidants of Joe Biden believe his choices for vice president have narrowed to Sen. Kamala Harris and Susan Rice — and would be surprised if he picks anyone else.
[…]
The campaign is now in methodical mode as it finalizes vetting, looks at internal polling results on potential picks and talks to finalists one-on-one. In third place is Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), who had a faltering performance on the Sunday shows after revelations about her past views on Cuba and Scientology.
It’s not going to be Bass. She’s an unknown member of the House, rather on the old side (she’ll be 67 on Election Day) for a successor, and something of a nut.
Since Amy Klobuchar’s implosion, Harris has seemed the obvious choice. While she’s not as seasoned as I’d prefer in national politics, she’s been in the Senate nearly four years and ran a national campaign for President, forcing her to bone up on the complexities of the job. She’s held big-time jobs at the state and local level. She’ll be 56 come Election Day, more than young enough to run in her own right in 2024 or even 2028.
Rice seems a weird choice to me. She’s brilliant—a Rhodes Scholar with an award-winning Oxford doctorate—with an impressive resume in the foreign affairs arena. She’ll turn 56 shortly after Election Day. But, not only is her preparation unusual—she’s never held elective office—but she’s incredibly controversial, even within Democratic circles.
That said, I’m befuddled by those, like S.E. Cupp, who claim they’d vote for Biden if Harris is his pick but not if he goes with Rice.
Indeed, while she does a solid job of rehashing why Donald Trump is unfit to be President and why giving him a second term would be a disaster, she doesn’t explain why Rice would be deal-breaker.
There is, for example, a massive difference between Harris and Rice. For me, it’s likely the difference between Biden getting my vote and writing someone else in. Harris would have my vote. Rice would not.
Not only do I need to know who Biden will pick, I need to know why. I need to know what he or she envisions for the country. His vice president will not just be a Biden rubber stamp, but a guiding force in his administration, and potentially his replacement. It won’t be enough to hear a boilerplate stump speech from his running mate. I need details.
With just under three months left until the election, time is of the essence. For moderates like me who are looking for reasons to vote for Biden, we need to know who’s on that ticket, and soon. I’m hoping, for the sake of the country, he chooses someone I can support.
Aside from literally offering no rationale as to what’s wrong with Rice, this is just nonsensical. Cupp, after all, was an enthusiastic supporter of Sarah Palin, a noted ignoramus, when she was John McCain’s running mate, only breaking from her when she endorsed Trump. But she’d deny Biden her vote if he picked Rice, who’s probably indistinguishable from Harris on the issues?
First, SE Cupp isn’t someone to take seriously. As you note, she supported Palin – and not just in the first couple of weeks before her ignorance was exposed. She also defended Huckabee’s invocation of the Shoah to attack Obama and herself accused Obama of a plan to seize everyone’s guns. She is very much a deliberate player in the wingnut welfare world
Second, you take her seriously but call Karen Bass “a bit of a nut”? Really? Based on what exactly? That she has different political beliefs and political preferences than you? Making that dismissive comment, with no actual rationale or factual assertions, has a whift of misogyny and/or racism.
I saw her tweet about this and didn’t bother reading the column–mostly because of time, but also because I knew it had to be a waste of time. It makes no sense. The notion that a VP Rice us enough to get her to vote third party in this election is, well, nuts.
And I agree that Harris makes substantially more sense than Rice if anything because I do not want to hear warmed-over “Benghazi!” nonsense for the next couple of months. I’d be perfectly fine with Rice in the cabinet.
@SKI:
Literally everyone in the conversation is a woman of color, so it’s an absurd charge.
She’s being introduced to the country as a whole because she’s on the short list for VP. And we’re learning about ties to Castro, the Communist Party of the USA, and Scientology. I don’t think dismissing that as nutty in the context of a presidential campaign is too harsh.
Were Biden to choose her, I would think less of his judgment. But, yes, I’d still vote for him.
@SKI: @Steven L. Taylor: Cupp has been around a while, although I think she’s valued more for her looks than her insights. But I came across that article when I found the Axios piece and thought the absurdity worth highlighting.
@James Joyner:
I’m telling you how it comes across. You can hand wave it away as “absurd” or you can seek to understand why.
Except you didn’t dismiss her candidacy because of her prior relationship with Cuba in the 1970s.* Had you said that, I would have completely agreed. I don’t think he will or should choose her for the very same reason.
What you did was describe *her* as a “bit of a nut”. You were completely dismissive in a way that resonated, at least with me, with the way women and minorities regularly get dismissed when white men would be viewed more complexly and with more nuance.
*her 2016 statement was, with the exception of using his self-aggrandizing title, fairly benign:
S.E. Cupp can vote for whoever she wants.
She is not a or the gatekeeper.
Why are we caring?
@SKI:
I’m going to defend Dr. Joyner on this one. I think that Karen Bass has things in her past that make her ripe for attacks that would be effective. I’m pretty damn progressive, but probably not woke enough, but I believe that her past comments can make her easily seem like “a bit of a nut”. She would be easy to demonize. Why even take that chance? Same with Susan Rice. I love Susan Rice, but to pretend that she doesn’t come with substantial baggage as a VP choice is naive. Benghazi would be the a hot topic, rather than Trump’s behavior and lack of fitness for
office.
Give Susan Rice Secretary of State. Put Karen Bass in charge of the Education Department or HHS.
Anything or anybody that takes the focus of of Trump is a mistake, in my opinion.
Biden will decide and we will react.
It is his choice.
When was the last time a VP choice actually mattered?
It is marginal at best. No one cares except political junkies.
@SKI:
Ask any Cuban, Puerto Rican, Domnican, Haitian, or anyone else from the West Indies is that’s a benign statement, and you’d be laughed out of the room. “Comandante en Jefe?” Seriously?? You obviously know very little of how many Cuban’s themselves view(ed) Castro. Many Cubans view Castro like some Germans view Hitler.
Imagine upon the death of Adolf Hitler, someone saying:
As Germany begins it’s time of mourning, I wish to express my condolences to the German people and the family of Adolph Hitler. The passing of this great leader is a great loss to the people of Germany. I hope together, our two nations will continue on the new path of support and collaboration with one another, and continue in the new direction of diplomacy.
Right. They’d be mocked and jeered. That’s what Bass’s statement reads like to many Latinos from the West Indies.
So yeah, a “bite of a nut” is accurate.
@SKI: I agree with @EddieInCA‘s assessment. I presumed readers were familiar with the backstory, so was simply dismissing her as a realistic candidate. Indeed, I’d be shocked if she’s really in third place. If you want a black woman longshot, Val Demmings makes tons more sense.
@James Joyner:
This is Biden’s choice.
Will it make a difference?
I knew who I was going to vote against in November 2016.
Biden could choose Satan incarnate and I would still vote against Trump.
Benghazi- 4, Covid- 157,000 and counting. I just can’t see the bogeyman of Benghazi rising from the dead to do any kind of real damage. The trumpsters will get on that bandwagon because they are trumpsters. Anybody else?
Besides fools like us no one cares about VP.
Bait dangling.
Arguably, for Biden, it means more because everyone expects he is regent for four years so VP gets incumbancy in 2024.
@EddieInCA:
When has Benghazi resonated with anyone outside the Republican base? Back in 2012, Romney tried to use it against Obama and it backfired spectacularly. (“Please proceed, Governor….”) The Republicans tried to use it against Hillary, but she was and remained astronomically popular at the time. When her popularity finally collapsed in 2015, it had nothing to do with Benghazi, it had to do with later “scandals” such as emailgate. I don’t happen to think either had much substance, but I can’t deny the evidence that there was a vast difference between the two in political impact–Benghazi had essentially no impact at all, just giving Republicans something to froth about.
And that was back when it was fresh. You really expect it to suddenly gain traction? You expect yelling about how “4 people died” nearly a decade ago is going to be a winning message for Republicans now?
Republicans are going to smear anyone Biden chooses, and we need to stop allowing ourselves to be spooked by that fact. Republicans are brutal and cunning, but not everything they do is effective, and they have a habit of getting lost in their own obsessions.
@de stijl: In this particular instance VP choice matters, not so much for the election itself, though I want to see Harris give Pence the ride that she gave Barr and others in Senate hearings. Rather, it’s because Biden is so old, and will serve one term at most. It’s really a choice as to who will have a huge boost for the next nomination (or even step in mid-term).
I think the main advantage for Harris over Rice is the lack of election experience of the latter. Plus Rice is tied to Clinton, has lesser name value and just excites a little less.
@Pylon:
It matters to pol junkies.
Come November, I know who I am voting for. Most folks know who they are voting for now. VP choice changes that how?
VP choice is a big deal to insiders, not to voters.
@de stijl:
No, it won’t (and it certainly won’t effect my vote).
However, political junkies gonna junk.
And, more importantly, I care more than usual because there is a nontrivial chance that the veep will be the next POTUS, and possibly before the end of this term (not to be morbid about Biden’s age). And even setting that aside, the reality is that the veep is the likely 2024 frontrunner for the 2024 nomination.
So, it does matter, albeit not because of the 2020 vote.
@Kylopod: It is less that I think Benghazi will have any resonance and more that I just don’t want to live through yet another relitigation of that nonsense.
There is shadow and full light stuff going on now that impacts 2024.
I get and understand that to a degree, but the focus must be on Trump must no longer have the Presidency come January.
Hyperfocus on that goal. Have a plan. Execute it.
Removing Trump from office is the most important thing we can do. Highest priority.
The rest will figure itself out after that is done.
@Kylopod:
True…but why hand the opposition a cudgel?
Rice would be a huge un-forced error.
Same with Harris and her record.
I’m still befuddled by this entire conversation…Warren has written a ton of Biden’s policies. And she brings young progressives that Harris won’t. I’m betting they are about even with the POC vote, or Warren may even do better.
I don’t care…vote blue no matter who…but I’m looking forward to a tall, cold, “told you so” beer.
Here’s my take
Harris- A fine selection
Bass- No way
Rice- I don’t think a novice politician as VP is a good selection when the nominee is a geriatric with issues
I still think Demings or Duckworth are worth a look
As I recall, one of the reasons given for why Obama choosing Biden as the VP candidate was good was Biden’s strengths in foreign policy to help compensate for Obama’s inexperience in that area. My perception this year has been that where Biden needs “shoring up” is on domestic issues, which would make Rice an odd choice.
@Daryl and his brother Darryl:
Because it isn’t a cudgel. Or if it is, it’s made of styrofoam.
Just because the Republicans yell about something a lot doesn’t mean it’s a problem for Dems. They’ve been yelling about Burisma for the better part of a year and it hasn’t made a dent in Biden’s campaign. It isn’t even in my spellchecker.
No, you’re telling him how you, personally, received it, which frankly says more about you than James. His retort that it’s an absurd charge when literally everyone else under discussion is also a WOC is spot on. For something to be misogynist or racist, it must, by definition, reflect an unwarranted (and generally negative) distinction on the basis of sex or race. That was clearly not the case here. Your position – or at least your reaction – appears to toss that standard aside in favor of a presumption that any harsh or dismiss criticism of someone who happens to be a woman / POC is, in and of itself, misogynist / racist or at least suggestive of underlying misogyny / racism. That’s a ridiculous and entirely unworkable approach.
@de stijl: Just in passing, I’ll stop to note that one can vote against Trump without voting for Biden (h/t: 2016).
Cupp isn’t mystifying at all. She’s setting up her “the only principled thing to do is vote 3rd party” piece in another couple of months.
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
I am voting for Biden.
If a tragedy happens between now and then, I will vote against Trump. Do not care who he is up against, I vote for the D in every case. No question.
Trump must not win.
But that’s one vote in one state.
(I know you are riffing on minor party voting)
@EddieInCA: Fair enough and, as I noted, I agree with the substance of the critique. My issue was that the substance wasn’t spelled out and instead, she was labeled a “bit of a nut”.
@EddieInCA: As I said, “with the exception of using his self-aggrandizing title” which I agree was bad and a reason to disqualify her. I don’t agree that phrasing something badly makes someone a “bit of a nut”. I don’t think James would have described Justin Trudeau as “a bit of a nut” for his comments after Castro’s death – which drew similar condemnation for being too warm.
@James Joyner: I get it, James, and if you had actually nodded towards her troublesome past statements, I would have agreed wholeheartedly. You didn’t. You dismissed her as nut job. I don’t think the disqualification is a problem – as I’ve said, I agree with it. I think that the “shorthand” which didn’t talk about her statements but her as a person, using terms that have a history of being used towards women and minorities, was off-putting – for me.
@R. Dave: I’ve been very clear that I’m talking about how it came across *to me* and that it carried a “whift” of misogyny and/or racism. I said that because it echoes language often used to dismiss people in those groups out of hand. I did not call James racist or misogynistic. I called out how his use of that dismissal in that phrasing came across to me.
Nor does the fact that it happened in a post when he was talking about other WOC without doing so change that reaction. James respects Harris and Rice – in part because he is familiar with them from their time in the national limelight. He doesn’t respect Bass and called her a nut to dismiss her out of hand without going into any details. He presumed we all understood her failings and agreed with him that that made her a “bit of a nut”.
Bass, whose politics I don’t agree with, has a lengthy history as an activist leader, elected state representative (including as Speaker of the House in California) and is a US Congresswoman. She can easily be wrong on issues without being a “bit of a nut”.
I hope you don’t deny that calling women crazy (hysterical, unbalanced, etc.) is a long-standing dismissive device. And yes, I do hope it says something about me that I’m attuned to that and call it out when I see it.
Ugh – tried to reply to 4 posts in a single post and ended up in moderation. le sigh.
@Kylopod:
And it won’t just be Benghazi…Rwanda, Libya, Obamagate…she’ll be a lightning rod.
@Steven L. Taylor: Regardless of any ‘mordidness’ this is a worthwhile discussion. Mr Biden has had a cerebral aneurysm repair which of course alters somewhat his ‘map’ of circulation through his brain. He also has atrial fibrillation which is the #1 cause of stroke. In his case a stroke would have an excellent chance of being greater in magnitude (in terms of number of neurons killed) than if the same stroke occurred in me and hopefully in all of us.
So yeah, it’s fodder for junkies but could have truly big consequences for everyone.
Better the cudgel you know than the one you don’t. Besides, Benghazi has an easy comeback in the form of Russian bounties.
So. It is my opinion, and evaluation, that Hillary Clinton has done no substantive wrong, though has maybe skated up to the edge of the law a few times, or dipped past it in a way that is both common among politicians and not very harmful. That’s my opinion.
The right-wing media complex has been pushing tales – wild tales – of her malfeasance for 30 years. And maybe 30-40 percent of the voting public buys them, maybe not all of them, but enough to think of her as an unprincipled mobster.
I felt during the last election cycle that I kind of wanted to shove all those conspiracy theories and smears down their throats by electing Hillary president.
That turns out to not have worked out well. There was considerable fluky luck involved too, but it’s tiresome. I’m sure Susan Rice is a highly competent person, and the Benghazi! crap is complete junk. And yet, why go there? What’s the gain? I don’t want to add any “and also”s to the simple goal of “defeat Trump” and it kinda feels like picking Susan Rice would be a move of the form “and also up yours on the Benghazi thing”.
Keep it simple.
@Jay L Gischer: I am of the opinion that the VP should be a politician, and Rice isn’t one, but I want to say this: Don’t let your enemies pick your running mates. No matter who Biden picks, the GOP will attack. So will the Russians. With any cudgel they can lay their hands on.
If he picks Rice, he’ll have his reasons. If he picks Harris, there will be reasons. Or Duckworth or Demmings… Whoever it is, I hope they are an attack dog who relishes the fray and knows how to hit back harder than the other side would ever dream of.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Beyond that…Rice is NOT the personality Biden needs. He needs an attack dog. Rice isn’t one.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Wiser words never spoken. Any Democratic who has accomplished anything will have been smeared by Republicans. It’s what they do at an instinctual level since they have no positive agenda whatsoever. To say “We can’t pick X because Republicans have been smearing them” is functionally equivalent to. “We can only pick a newcomer or someone with the same record of accomplishment as a bowl of mush.”
@JohnMcC:
I wholly concur. I think it is wholly reasonable, indeed necessary for the campaign to take Biden’s age and health into consideration when making this pick (and is why, between the two of them, I would pick Harris because of her resume at it pertains to elected offices).
I would worry about someone who hasn’t campaigned for anything. Biden is old, and whoever he chooses shouldn’t be completely untested at public leadership, in case Biden dies.
If Biden really wants to work with Susan Rice, we now have the precedent for the Jared Kushner level advisor with no specific portfolio, which could suit her skills without taking a big chance on the campaigning.
Biden needs someone who can twist a knife and explain policy in relatable terms, and say “Oh, that was just Joe being Joe”. Harris would be a fine pick. Warren would be a fine pick (more on explaining policy than knife-wielding).
@Steven L. Taylor:
A truly terrible pick might make me pause when voting, but wouldn’t change my vote. I mean, if he tapped Jared as his VP, I might just not vote, and sneak across the border to Canada, and learn to speak Canadian… but among the plausible options, just pause.
I do wonder if there are people who are on the fence, somewhere, somehow. The people who approved of Trump until recently, for instance, who would be more swayed.
@SKI:
I’m from Los Angeles. I’ve been calling Maxine Waters “a bit of a nut” for decades. No racism or misogyny there. I also called Henry Waxman, my former congressman in Los Angeles, “crazy as a loon” for a few of his positions.
I’m not going to stop calling em’ as I see them. If I’m going to call out Ted Cruz or Matt Gaetz or Tim Scott for their ridiculousness, I’m going to do it to Illan Omar or Gavin Newsome or Karen Bass if it’s called for.
Just about all of Biden’s choices come with baggage…even Warren, who many of us like, has baggage…another part of this issue is addressed in this article which eviscerates the Biden campaign for the way they’ve handled this entire process…
@EddieInCA: Trumps’s baggage is MASSIVE enough to make Rice’s baggage NOTHING. Let the Re-pubs have at it with benghazi -stop being AFRAID and defending when Dems have SO much to ATTACH with. Rice is an experienced and knowledgeable fighter who now knows first-hand how to deal with the Re-pubs. Traditionally the VP is the “attach dog” of the team – and Rice will be WAY better than Harris who proved to be a “1-trick pony” during the primaries. Take the gloves off and choose Rice!
@EddieInCA:
There’s a difference between saying that George W. Bush resembles Curious George and saying that Barack Obama resembles Curious George. Both have big ears, so the actual resemblance might be the same, but there’s a history of comparing black people to monkeys.
Women get described as irrational, nutty, etc — and it’s a way to dismiss them. Even perfectly rational, but passionate women will be described that way to dismiss them.
There’s a reason that Michele Bachmann was depicted as a loon — because she was a loon. But there’s a reason why it stuck so much, and that’s because she was a woman. There are plenty of men who are just as loony, but it doesn’t stick the same way.
@Pylon: Harris is a 1-trick pony that will not work well with Biden (no way!). She offers nothing for the ticket – her campaign was poorly run (partly why she dropped out so early), she never knew how to sustain momentum, and her strategy was very faulty. If she could mange her own campaign can she really manage a country (even as a 2nd party participant)? Rice is highly respected for managing, and WINNING.
Trumps’s baggage is MASSIVE enough to make Rice’s baggage NOTHING. When benghazi is broght up fire back with “INJECT yourself with CLOROX to stop COvid” – ATTACK. Traditionally the VP is the “attach dog” of the team – and Rice will be WAY better than Harris.
@Gustopher: Susan rice is VERY well tested at public leadership. The offices he held in the Obama administration were position of greater leadership (PRIME-TIME) than anything that Kamala Harris has held -wake up! Harris is untested on the BIG (national) STAGE and Rice is not. Every person is DC right now have made greater mistakes than any Rice has made – consider that, and consider Trump makes giant mistakes daily but no one really beats him over the head with it. Same is true for all the GOP members who LIE, CHEAT, and COVER-UP for him – no one is beating them over the head with their transgressions. Dems must adopt the GOP techniques of tough dogmatic fighting – they have a TON of REAL material that matters to voters.
@An Interested Party: So, honestly WHO has more BAGGAGE than Trump??? When has any of his baggage stopped him? Why does he win with baggage but others lose? Because the DOESN’T care what people like you ro me thinks he goes out there and LIE, CHEAT, STEAL, do whatever it takes to WIN. Susan Rice won’t, LIE, CHEAT, or STEAL but she has proven she can win and is tougher, smarter, and more experienced than any of the females on biden list.
@Steven L. Taylor: Harris is a 1st term jr congresswoman – every dog gets lucky once and finds a bone that doesn’t mean that dog is a “bone-whisperer”.
All of you guys are thinking too conventional during the “Age of Trump” (absolutely anything goes!!!) – American has gotten weird and the old conventions don’t apply anymore – its bout wit and grit and who has the most fight! I say Rice has proven she’s smarter and tougher than Harris.
Joe, just pick someone and let’s move on.
Biden has made 2 mistakes in his VP search, the first saying that it would be a woman and then being further limited when as events played out, the VP candidate needed to be a minority. His second mistake was indicating that he would have a selection by a date, he pushed the date back and has pushed it back again. This has allowed the trumpaloon press to shout that Joe can’t make a decision because he’s a senile old doofus. Both of these were unforced errors that were easily avoided, but not surprising that he made them.
@de stijl:
Sorry, I have other plans for 2021-24, and am not interested in either VP or Pres position, past, present, or future.
Even without this process they would call him that, he should proceed without worrying about what they might call him, especially considering how many screws are loose in his opponent…
@An Interested Party: Even if Trump could barely walk and couldn’t string two words together for a sentence while drooling on himself they would still be screaming about how Biden is the real low energy senile old guy…
@de stijl
“When was the last time a VP choice actually mattered?”
Sarah Palin
He’s not too far from that at this point…
@Christopher Osborne:
Did likely Obama voters change their previously intended vote?
Did McCain leaners change their vote?
Marginal at best. To third party, perhaps.
No way any R was going to win in 2008. McCain coulda picked Jesus as veep and still would have lost. Bush had already spoiled the well.
The whole veepstakes thing is over-rated. Journalists and pol junkies fret. From a voting perspective it is essentially meaningless. Even the homie effect is marginal lately.
@Christopher Osborne: @de stijl: There was at least one study suggesting Palin cost McCain votes, though I agree he was a goner either way.
@flat earth luddite:
Are you Christian Satan or old school old gods Cthulhu primordial evil?
Asking for a friend.
@EddieInCA: I’m still with Kamala Harris on this one. Sh’s been electedto the Semate from the most populous state in the Union, she smart and very tough, and can stand toe-to-toe in any campaign fight with the Republicans. Added bonus, CA is a safe state and Governor Newsome can appoint Schiff to the Senate and not lose Democratic power.
Susan Rice? I’m with @EddieInCA: on this. I’m just not inclined to give Republicans another ‘Benghazi!’ card to play. Also, she’s never been through an election campaign herself.
Karen Bass? Again, I’m with @EddieInCA: on this. Florida is actually in play right now, so why give Republicans the ‘Cuba card’ to play? And Scientology too? Sorry, no thanks.
Val Demings? I thought she showed well during the Impeachment Hearings. Not sure there’s enough visibility but, I’m fine with her.
If Joe hadn’t made the commitment to a Black Woman, I’d be very interested in Cory Booker or even Hakeem Jeffries, but that’s another opinion piece.
@flat earth luddite: What’s your plan if I may ask? If you plan on living on this planet, I’d be 100% inclined to tell you that the outcome of this election will have far reaching repercussions, more so if Trump pulls the proverbial rabbit out again. He’s ruined our international reputation, pulled us out of the Paris climate accord, forged very public alliances with some very dangerous foreign leaders, I could go on and on. Biden will bring back respectability to the office and will have a lot of work to do to fix what Trump has done. To not care or not vote, or worse yet, throw a vote based on a VP is crazier than Trump himself. I’m not 100% thrilled with the short list BUT Biden could ask my 3 year old Poodle to be his VP (very intelligent, teaches herself tricks though has never run for public office) and I’d still vote Biden. He could ask my lawn mower and again he has my vote. This is not to discount any person/woman he chooses in the end but to show that come hell or high water, Trump or a no vote/throw vote won’t happen in my hands.
@Gustopher: @all Ameda: What!?? Campaigning does not make you a tested leader – what a nutty thing to say! If Biden sudden died on day 2 the VP would need foreign Affairs experience, knowledge of how washington works (all 3 houses) and experience dealing with people on the national level. Only Susan Rice has ANY experience at that – VERY different from running campaign, which btw Harris failed at on the national stage – can’t run a campaign can’t run a country – this is known.