This was the childhood and youth of Kamala Harris 6:14
Editor's Note: David Axelrod, a CNN political commentator and host of "The Ax Files," was a senior adviser to President Barack Obama and chief strategist for Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. The opinions expressed in this comment are yours. See more op-ed articles at CNNe.com/opinion.
(CNN) - It's a measure of these extraordinary times that Joe Biden's historic pick for vice president was also the most conventional.
In casting Kamala Harris, Biden chose the candidate who had been a favorite among political forecasters and betting markets for months. The California senator keeps Biden's promise to name a woman and responds to the expectation that she should be the first black woman to serve on a national ballot.
The pressure to make that decision has been mounting since the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests over racial inequity. And beyond the historical nature of Harris's selection, many supporters argued that the presence of a black person on the ballot was necessary to motivate black voters. The lukewarm turnout by black voters in 2016 helped convict Hillary Clinton in her run against Donald Trump.
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Harris is a charismatic politician who is favored by being on television. And as a US senator and recent presidential candidate, Harris also meets another important test for Biden. People familiar with the research the campaign conducted to inform its decision told me that voters viewed her as one of the most qualified to be president on the first day, a key positive, given Biden's status as potentially the politician. Oldest to serve as President.
She is also familiar with the maelstrom of a national campaign, having spent a year running for president, albeit without success. While she was at times unsure in dealing with incoming criticism from the media and opponents, she understands the pace and nature of it, which will only intensify in a race against Trump.
One of the main tasks of a running mate is to play a leading role in presenting the case against the other running mate, particularly in the vice presidential debate.
A former prosecutor like Harris, known as a fierce interrogator on Capitol Hill at times, proved to be a keen debater during the campaign. Biden knows it well. He was her famous target in the first primary debate 14 months ago, when she theatrically confronted him about his position on mandatory school transportation in the 1970s.
That exchange, in which Harris played on her own experience as a girl who benefited from bus transportation, briefly brought her to the top rung of candidates in the polls. It was also a source of friction with Biden and her family that could have changed her choice.
In the end, Biden considered others seriously, but returned to Harris as the "no-harm" candidate, unlikely to excite or outrage many. She may not seem the most comfortable as a governing partner, a quality Biden said he was looking for, but Harris was seen as the safest pick to win in November.
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By naming her, Biden has likely set the dynamics for the 2024 election as well, not just the current one. The former vice president has not said that he would retire after a term, although given that he will be 81 years old in the next election, it is widely assumed that he will not run.
This will also put Harris not only in a historic but challenging position if he wins the Biden-Harris formula. She would immediately be installed as the heir apparent and presumed favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination within 4 years.
That means she would become an immediate target for Republicans looking to inflict political damage on the standard-bearer they may face on the ballot in 2024. It would also challenge her to balance the roles of vice president and loyal and supportive candidate on the line.
Balancing these pressures would be a challenge for anyone assuming the No. 2 spot in these unique circumstances, but perhaps even more so for the 55-year-old Harris, who has already sought the presidency and is presumed to still harbor that goal.
Others that Biden considered may have fit more comfortably in society with him.
He reportedly clicked with Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, but she would not have fulfilled the wish of those who prioritized a black female candidate.
Whitmer, a moderate choice of whites, would also have raised questions among supporters of the progressive champion, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, widely viewed after a lifetime of advocacy and a strong campaign for president as a tough, brilliant, and tough politician. able. But some also saw Warren as the most polarized of potential candidates, whom Trump would have offered as evidence that the moderate Biden is simply a Trojan horse for the left.
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California Rep. Karen Bass, the widely respected chair of the Congressional Black Legislators Group, emerged late in the process as the darling of some on Biden's team and of Democratic leaders in Congress. But she was hurt by reporting on her past positions on Cuba, which some Florida Democrats warned could cost Biden the most important state on the battlefield.
Susan Rice was well known to Biden for her role as President Barack Obama's National Security Adviser, which gave her perhaps the most insightful insight into the presidency's demands. But she had never run for office before and her election, they feared, would have revived attacks on her handling of Benghazi, which could have been a distraction.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a fearless veteran of the Iraq war, also rose in the process. But some feared that being the daughter of a Thai mother and an American father, and her childhood in Thailand and Indonesia, would trigger a new round of unwarranted attacks, another unnecessary distraction.
Harris has been publicly vetted, at least partially, throughout her White House run. And while Biden may have questions about how she would operate as vice president, he also knows that it will be a moot point if he is not elected.
In making his decision, Biden noted that he is focused like a laser in November, and sees Harris as the best bet to win.
Joe BidenKamala Harris