The Democratic presidential ticket is now in place with the historic addition of Kamala Harris, the Senator from California who is the first black woman and first Indian American woman to run on a major party’s presidential ticket. Former Vice President Joe Biden, in his own way, understands what making history is all about. Being chosen to serve as Vice President to the nation’s first black President, Barack Obama, put his course going forward in a category of its own.
In their first joint public appearance, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did something we’ve almost forgotten about during these past four years. They brought humanity back to presidential politics. With solidarity of strength they addressed the issues facing most people in this country today. The coronavirus pandemic with no national strategy for its control, the economy of food on the table, education in whatever form it will be taking place, and racism on this third anniversary of the United the Right rally where neo-nazis and Klansmen streamed through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. On each issue raised, President Donald Trump was verbally confronted. But the attacks didn’t come from the gutter. They came as a reality check.
Despite the restrictions brought on by Covid-19 preventing Biden and Harris from appearing before a large rally, they stood in a near empty auditorium very much alone together. The starkness of the makeshift stage reflected a built-in simplicity that allowed each of them to address us with a strength that perhaps would not have been the same if surrounded by hoopla.
Senator Harris called on Americans to “vote like never before because we need more than a victory on November 3rd.” She continued:
“We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are or who we aspire to be.”
And now the race begins.
President Trump will make sure the 2020 campaign as dirty and mean a campaign as he and his compadres can make it. We saw what he was capable of in the 2016 campaign against another strong and talented woman, and he’s given us no reason to believe he’ll change A lot of sleaze accompanied by bravado and very little substance.
Substance in Trump’s last campaign was based on smoke and mirrors. Vice President Mike Pence went along for the ride with a near constant adoring gaze and not much else. After eight years of President Obama's time in office, few were prepared for what lay ahead with a Trump/ Pence team at the helm.
But 2020 is a very different time in which to run for president. The physical health of our entire country is being threatened with a plague that’s spread across our land. The economy has brought us to depression era numbers, and the issues surrounding race in our country have reached a point not seen since the sixties.
Who's best qualified to handle the challenges each and every one of us face and become the next leader of the free world? It's hard to imagine the men currently holding the jobs of President and Vice President are the men to trust going forward. The time has come to retire this version of Donald Trump's reality show and get on with a team who can tackle reality with genuine ability, and concern for our future.