The Veep Needs A Veep
The Oasis Reporters
August 6, 2024
CNN report:
US Vice President Kamala Harris is hours from unveiling her running mate — and the new team plans to headline a big rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, kicking off a weeklong tear through battleground states.
As she nears her final decision, the new Democratic presidential candidate might be advised to consider the maxim that explains the Hippocratic oath “First do no harm.” That is, to her own campaign.
Harris’ ascension has already discombobulated Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, who left their nominating convention in Milwaukee last month convinced that they were heading for a landslide in November.
Now they face a new race and are locked in a head-to-head battle after President Joe Biden’s exit took the issue of his age off the table and reframed the election as a neck-and-neck fight in a polarized nation.
With only three months to go in the election, every day that Harris maintains — or accelerates — her momentum is priceless. If she can smoothly roll out a running mate, she could drown out Trump for another week, then ride into Chicago for the Democratic convention in two weeks on a roll. But any errors in the vice-presidential pick — the first critical choice of the Harris campaign — could wrest the narrative away.
Signs that Trump has buyer’s remorse over his pick of Vance — after the roughest debut of a vice presidential nominee since Sarah Palin in 2008 — show the danger of getting the vice presidential unveiling wrong.
So, who will Harris choose?
Given her historic potential as the possible first woman, Black, Indian American president, Harris is widely expected to pick a White male in hopes of limiting Trump’s dominance of that demographic in November.
The hot money is on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who might help her win his critical swing state.
Some Democrats favor Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain and astronaut whose home state of Arizona is another battleground. Kelly could also mitigate Harris’ weakness on a top issue — immigration. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is getting buzz, and Harris also interviewed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Red state Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina has withdrawn from consideration.
But bear this in mind: Vice Presidential nominees can hurt a campaign but are almost never decisive in an election. This is all about Harris v. Trump.
Credits: CNN’s Meanwhile In America
