Kamala Harris and Joe Biden: The Woman Who Doesn't Harm Him

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (September 2019): She has not yet proven that she can inspire voters

There would have been more knowledgeable candidates like left-wing Senator Elizabeth Warren. There would have been women with more government experience, like Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan. Val Demings, the Florida Congresswoman, would have been a more interesting choice.

In the end, Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris. The California Senator is slated to become Vice President if the Democratic challenger wins the November election against Donald Trump.

Harris is the first non-white woman to be nominated for this office. Her mother is from India, her father from Jamaica. She was attorney general in California and has been a senator in Washington for four years. (Read more about her career here)

She has had a considerable political career behind her, but what was particularly interesting for Biden was what she is not: not too left, not too old, not too inexperienced, not white.

In the run-up to Biden's decision, a lot has been written about what his candidates should supposedly be able to do: It was said to mobilize voters in the Swings States. It should keep the African Americans in the party. It should be a dynamic counterpart to Biden's comfort.

All of this probably played a role in Biden's decision, but something else was decisive. The Democratic presidential candidate is ten percentage points ahead of Trump in national polls. Above all, his candidate should not harm him.

A white woman like Whitmer could have angered those sections of the African American electorate who have loudly called for a black candidate. A left like Warren might have scared suburban Republican voters who are turning their backs on Trump.

Main task: please do not scare off voters

Harris doesn't scare. She doesn't inspire either. In this it resembles Biden himself. He is the lowest common denominator that the party has agreed to beat Trump. Why should he now choose a partner who endangers this construct?

Harris's own presidential campaign failed surprisingly early, as the incumbent president pointed out with relish. She didn't even make it to the first Iowa area code.

She has not yet proven that she can inspire voters. But their main task is not to alienate voters.

There is no doubt that Harris is flexible enough to adapt to her new role quickly. During the Democratic primary debates, she accused Biden of alleged closeness to racist senators, something she took personally and found hurtful. As soon as Biden was selected, she was one of the first to stand behind him.

She was tough on Trump's judge candidates

During her time as California attorney general, she took a tough line in law enforcement, which in practice was mostly directed against black people. Since the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement rocked the country, it has been marching side by side with the demonstrators and calling for extensive police reform.

Harris has good relations with the democratic establishment. At the same time, it is not a stimulus for the party left. She can advertise a thing very powerfully, although she does not like to be pinned down on content-related positions.

She has done well in Senate hearings, from a Democratic perspective, especially when interviewing Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's candidate for the Supreme Court.

You needn't fear the upcoming debate with Vice President Mike Pence.

The campaign can only have one goal in focus

In the past few weeks it has been pointed out many times that the candidate must be able to take over the presidency if Biden, who is currently 77 years old, is no longer able to do so for health reasons. There is no doubt that Harris is up to it.

But Biden did not attach great importance to this aspect. Otherwise he would not have nominated a woman who had no chance in the party even against Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. That is only consistent. Why should the candidate worry about his successor in an office that he does not yet hold?

Like the entire party, Biden has subordinated all substantive and personal questions to a single goal. He wants to defeat Donald Trump in November. In this way, Kamala Harris is the right choice.