There has been no 'silent generation' President, though there have been three 'boomers'- all born in the same year- in the White House. Biden has picked 'boomer' Kamala Harris- a Tamil Brahmin on her mother's side- so as to reproduce the magic of his own bromance with 'boomer' Obama. What could possibly go wrong?
Trump thinks he has the answer. Kamala could outshine Biden- that's bad for a Presidential candidate. Remember Geraldine Ferraro? Who was she running with? I must admit I'd forgotten. I had to Google it. Turns out it was Walter Mondale.
At one time Bush Snr was supposed to be a serious rival to Reagan but Reagan, 'the great communicator', dominated him completely. Where my theory comes unstuck is with Dick Cheney. But Cheney had quit politics some years previously. Bush Jnr. brought him in from Haliburton to pick a Veep and ended up offering him the job. Clearly Junior needed a minder- an old family retainer- an Alfred to his Batman. But Cheney was probably the most personally unpopular Veep ever. He's the reason Americans don't want Veeps who are smarter and more capable than the President. This is what Trump is getting at. Of course, he over-eggs the cake by trying to make out that Harris is a crazy Marxist who wants to kill White people rather than a CNAS supported, centrist, Clintonista. But the fact remains, Americans don't want a scheming Veep running circles round the President. What if she engineers a crisis so the old man just decides to quit? The other point is, is Biden, who is already the age Reagan was when he demitted office, a possible 2 term President? Will he be a 'lame duck' even in his first administration? In that case, this election is really Trump v Hillary all over again.
On the other hand, Harris isn't Clinton. She is of purely immigrant descent. She represents a 'Saltwater' elite Paideia which is cozily in bed with both Political Correctness and the Global Power of Finance Capital. Will this election become Harris v Trump? Perhaps it should. Harris is a prosecutor. Trump fears and loathes her. But Harris, unlike Obama, has no American roots whatsoever. She represents Feminism of an Academic or Meritocratic kind. She has no children. Her parents were divorced. She only got married quite recently. These are the things which the Republicans will pick at. She is everything Pence is not. No doubt, they will try to smear her husband with some financial impropriety- Geraldine Ferraro was damaged by allegations about her husband- but the real question is about the strength of her Baptist commitment. It may be cool to be both Hindu and Baptist in California but what about the fly-over states? Who is it the dot Indians worship? Some guy with an Elephant's head? That's so not okay.
All this won't matter at all if Harris acts demure and submissive and lets Biden shine. But will Biden shine? So far he has done so only by reflected light. Why were there no 'Silent Generation' Presidents? Kerry and McCain did get their Party's tickets. Both put up quite a good show though, with hindsight, they made poor Veep picks. Were they trying to shine by standing next to more charismatic and personable younger people? Did this consideration prevent them trusting their gut re. their running mate's character flaws?
Maybe a 'Dan Quayle' strategy is only required of Republicans. Perhaps, being more secure in their manhood, Democrats can afford to have an intelligent Veep. But then, at one time, Al Gore was considered bright. Clinton must have known differently, but kept it under his hat.
Why did Biden not choose a nice quiet Churchy woman with Red State appeal? Why not an indigenous Black rather than someone whose Daddy came from somewhere else to do a PhD at a top College? These are foolish questions. Biden picked the candidate who scored best all round though it does seem there was some last minute lobbying by powerful vested interests. Still, perhaps we should think of it as gutsy and a sign that Biden does not hold grudges. He's a grown-up not a perpetually babyish boomer.
I suppose we will see a new and demure Kamala cooking for her step-kids and holding hands with her hubby in Church. This brings out Biden's fatherly qualities and lets him look decisive. He will probably still get support from other potential female Veep picks precisely because the selection process seems to have been based on an objective metric rather than male ego.
I can't see how a Biden-Harris ticket could possibly lose. Thus, they will lose for sure. I'm not American. I just don't get that country.
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