New York Times: Biden Has Failed to Position Kamala For Succession

I think that's the best headline I've written in ten years.

It just came to me. I'm proud of that one, even though it was not really the product of actual work, just random inspiration.

Anyway:

The New York Times admits Kamala Harris is not ready to take over for Biden, and what a tiny hurdle that is to clear.

But it's never the WOC's fault, of course.

At least, you're never allowed to say it is.

This writer begins by discussing the important missions and great amount of trust Eisenhower placed in Nixon, a man he didn't even like, and notes that Biden hasn't given Kamala that kind of mission.

Except... he did. She just failed them.

He hand-waves that away by saying he only gave her "intractable" problems to solve.

Not her fault!

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was a first-term senator from California before entering the White House, hasn't been given the sort of immersive experiences or sustained, high-profile tasks that would deepen and broaden her expertise in ways Americans could see and appreciate... But over the last 18 months, her on-the-job training in governing has largely involved intractable issues like migration and voting rights where she has not shown demonstrable growth in leadership, and hit-or-miss trips overseas like the troubled foray in Central America a year ago and the more successful delegation to meet with the United Arab Emirates' new president, leading a team that included Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

If other presidents have formed substantive partnerships in office with their V.P.s, and made efforts to deeper their experience, President Biden and Ms. Harris have been either unable or uninterested in a similar transformation. From the outside, there's little evidence that the Biden White House feels much of the urgency felt by General Eisenhower to enhance the role and preparedness of the person who might inherit the presidency at any moment.

Mr. Biden's announcement last week that he tested positive for the coronavirus underscores the clear and present need for the 79-year-old leader, his aides and Ms. Harris to find ways for her to become a true governing partner, rather than just a political partner who helped him get elected. This isn't simply about being fair to Ms. Harris or elevating her like some other vice presidents have been elevated; Americans deserve to know and see that they have a vice president who is trusted by White House and administration officials to take over, should anything happen to the president.

Again, he puts the onus on the White House to trust Harris, rather than on Harris to earn trust.

Once again, people have failed to position Kamala Harris for success.

Instead, we have mostly seen the opposite. She is hampered by Mr. Biden's unpopularity, to be sure, but she has also not become the successful public face on any major issue. Recently she has energetically undertaken her "How Dare They" tour, as a Politico headline described her trips attacking Republicans on abortion rights after the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade -- but this work only underscores the narrowness of her political role. It's meant to whip up the Democratic base, a basic job of vice presidents. It's not something that shows she is capable of assuming the presidency, and gives Americans reasons to view her as a viable leader for a country in dire need of leadership.

He notes that Biden's protestations that he will run again do not seem to be taken very seriously by other Democrats:

Mr. Biden's declarations that he will run again seem only to encourage his opponents....

John Sexton covered this story and noted this comment from a reader, who says that Kamala Harris is in a "doom loop."

I'm a liberal person of color from the Bay Area, followed Harris from her DA days. Not a fan of her politically. She seems like a robot with a bit of condescension radiating when she speaks. I remember her being asked tough questions on the campaign trail and immediately turning to her handlers(her sister) to feed her an answer. It's clear Biden picked her strictly as a move to capture the multiracial vote while having littler respect for her as a politician. Now from the outside it looks like a doom loop where Biden doesn't trust her, she can't get off the bench to try to improve in the game, and thus Biden continues to keep her on the bench.

Well once someone doesn't position you for success you can't just get up and reposition yourself for success!

Your success can only come about through other people making it happen for you! Everyone knows that!

Below, Kamala says abortion is important for children, talks about the crisis of women getting pregnant every day, and calls for people "fighting in the streets," days after an attack on a GOP candidate for governor.

Abortion is important to "real people, including children."

Well. In a way.

"Women are getting pregnant every day in America. This is a real issue."

The Dobbs decision is like slavery:

Just days after a nut attacked New York gubernatorial candidate Leo Zeldin, this whore also called for people to "fight it out on the streets."

Maybe conservatives should start fighting it out on the streets.

Would you like that?

posted by Ace at 05:09 PM

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