Thank you, Kamala

Madam President-Elect?

I’m writing this piece on Election Day morning. In some states, the polls haven’t even opened. Before the pundits start heaping praise/scorn on the winning/failed Harris campaign, I want to take a moment to thank her for inspiring and uplifting millions of Americans during what had been a moribund presidential campaign before President Biden dropped out on July 21^st.

Do you remember the months leading up to then? Trump bulldozed through his own lightweight primaries, seizing the nomination and appeared to be marching towards a second stay on Pennsylvania Avenue. Biden was down in the polls; his campaign appeared to be keeping him under wraps. Then came the debate.

Within a few minutes of that performance beginning, I made the joke that we should start getting ready for President Gavin Newsome. By the time it was over, I was arguing that Biden had just lost the job. A couple anxious weeks later, he withdrew and endorsed Kamala.

Game on.

Almost immediately, the mood among Democrats lightened. Here was the backup QB coming into the big game after the starter got hurt. How would she perform? The answer: beautifully.

Harris critics pointed out that she hadn’t gotten very far during her first presidential run, never winning a primary. They said she had high turnover among her staff and that her own popularity was the lowest among sitting vice presidents since, I don’t know, Dan Quayle ? As soon as she declared her intention to seek the presidency, however, something shifted.

Her critics didn’t go away, of course, but in the hundredsomething days since she entered the race as the presidential candidate, we’ve witnessed an incredible wellspring of enthusiasm and hope from Americans across the political spectrum. A lot of that has been an anti-Trump vote, but a lot of it, I believe, is also genuine enthusiasm for this incredible woman from Oakland, CA.

Those who want to denigrate her accomplishments can, pardon my French, go fuck themselves. Anybody who makes it to the pinnacle of American political life, as she has, deserves to be acknowledged for that success (yes, even Donald Trump). Although the Harris campaign has been at great pains to avoid discussing her gender and ethnicity, it’s especially impressive for a woman of color to reach the precipice of the American presidency.

Like Obama and Clinton before him, this is somebody who comes from a family of modest means without any obvious connections. Consider some of the last few Republican nominees: the celebrity son of a millionaire real estate developer, the son of a Rear Admiral, the son of a President and grandfather of a Senator. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I like that the Democrats win when they select people who reflect more of the population they are being elected to serve. When people like me talk about the promise of America, it’s stories like hers that we think about.

I don’t know anything about running a political campaign, but sitting here today, it’s hard to remember one rolled out and executed with this level of speed, agility, and discipline. From the jump, she’s run (at least what appears to this outsider) a well-organized, energetic campaign notable for its huge crowds, its messaging, fundraising, and ability to attract supporters from every nook and cranny of the American landscape. This is truly a Big Tent coalition – too big for my tastes, honestly because fuck Dick Cheney – but I’m grateful for whatever support the Harris people has been able to accrue.

The fact is, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Kamala. She’s running to replace her boss, an unpopular president presiding over a nation teetering from ginned-up culture wars, covid residue, and a rightwing fear generator. Like Biden, though, she recognized that the way to beat Trump isn’t to blow him out of the water (although that would be lovely), but to peel off just enough of the independent and persuadable Republican vote without alienating people on the left. The war in Israel has, rightfully, made the second part of that equation a challenge which may wind up proving fatal, but from where I sit on this Election Day morning, it looks as if the strategy has a better than 50% chance of working out.

The sane still among us have watched Trump/Vance say and do atrocious thing after atrocious thing, while every word uttered by Harris/Walz is scrutinized down to the atomic level. Her policy proposals are criticized while he can get away with his usual brand of bullshit because nobody expects any cogent ideas from him, anyway. The double standard is maddening but utterly predictable. Trump conditioned an entire nation to simultaneously believe/disbelieve him. He is Schrodinger’s candidate, able to say and do anything with a campaign that, like the famous cat, always appears both alive and dead. By this time tomorrow, I am hoping dead.

She may win, or not. I don’t know. But, whatever the result, I am grateful for Vice President Kamala Harris. She rescued a losing Democratic campaign for President of the United States. She showed America, again, what a positive politics can look like. She inspired millions of us, but especially girls. She selected an incredible Vice Presidential candidate in Tim Walz, which had the additional benefit of providing Jim Gaffigan with another steady TV gig. She stiffened Democratic spines. At their only debate, she pointed out the Orange Emperor’s lack of clothing, and he was so embarrassed that he refused to stand on a stage with her again. She was smart and stylish and funny. She brought us joy and she made us believe. Thanks, Kamala.