While I was in Italy, I caught a news report that Vice President Kamala Harris was wildly unpopular among potential voters and a drag on the Democrats’ 2024 ticket.
With voter concern about President Joe Biden’s age haunting his chances of reelection, a new poll shows his next in line, Vice President Kamala Harris, facing serious doubts about her ability to win the presidency herself, or to perform the job well were she to inherit it.The POLITICO/Morning consult poll reveals that only a third of voters think it’s likely Harris would win an election were she to become the Democratic nominee, and just three of five Democrats believe she would prevail. A quarter of independents think she would win.That skepticism extends to her potential future role as the head of her party. Forty-two percent of voters described her as a strong leader, including three-quarters of Democrats but only a third of independents.
However, I have come to doubt everything presented as “fact” and “news” related to this administration. Is she really that unpopular, or is there push-polling or other motivations behind these reports?
After all, Hillary Clinton, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Biden himself all have motivation to make it seem as if Harris is problematic.
Recall that less than a week ago, we were being told that concerns about Biden’s age were “cheap fakes” and numerous media organizations touted that Biden was vital enough to continue for another four years.
Thursday night showed the consequences of the mainstream media and Democrat politicians propping up this massive lie for the entire world to see. How can one believe any report related to the White House going forward?
Professor Jacobson correctly noted that Biden’s cognitive decline is a “national security threat of the highest order.” I would like to pair his thoughts with a personal observation I now have about Harris.
The Vice Present was the keynote speaker for the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) graduation this year. While many of my friends joked about my ability to listen to her address, I intended to giver her the benefit of the doubt. If Harris managed to focus on the cadets and did not promote DEI or insult Republicans, I would applaud quite happily.
Her speech at USAFA academy was pitch perfect. Harris spoke passionately, without slurring, and presented her administration’s defense priorities intelligently.
In her address to this year’s U.S. Air Force Academy graduating class, the vice president called on the cadets to continue the legacy of innovation that has served as the foundation for the nation’s dominance in the skies.”As it has been for generations, America’s national security and global stability depend on our strength in the sky and space,” Harris said. “And our officers, our nation is counting on you to preserve and extend that strength, including, I will add, through innovation.”This call to action, Harris said, comes as the United States depends on the air and space prowess it has maintained for generations to deter competitors and defend allies against aggression.”It was America’s forces in the air that bombed train tracks and fuel depots to prevent Nazi reinforcements from reaching the front lines and helped defeat tyranny and fascism in Europe 80 years ago,” she said. “Over the beaches of Normandy, America won control of the sky and we have kept it ever since.”
I was very pleasantly surprised, and gave her enthusiastic applause . . . as did the rest of the audience. Harris even shook the hand of each and every cadet, including my son. Bonus: She did not fall down on stage.
Now, I am not a fan of her policies. And I will simply point to my 2016 post indicating Harris would likely be a worse U.S. Senator from California than Barbara Boxer.
However, it is clear that Harris is a fully functioning human being capable of making reasoned decisions. She is able to discharge the duties of President.
Interestingly, there are now attempts to rehabilitate her image. A columnist for The New York Times now thinks she can carry the banner in 2024.
A campaign is not a debate, and there is a long road ahead. But the job is to rouse the country out of an alternative universe in which the Trump presidency was actually not that bad. I think she can make that case better than almost anyone in the Democratic Party.Her polling before this debate was not great — her favorables are as dismal as Biden’s — but recent polls in swing states have shown she could gain trust with voters should she step in for the president. Unlike a drafted candidate, she would start with low expectations she could quite easily exceed. In a world filled with peril, she has been involved in major national security issues, not relegated to ribbon cuttings. Paired with, say, a strong, centrist governor like Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania or Andy Beshear of Kentucky as her running mate, she could win this.
As a side note, here is a picture of me and my son during his graduation week.
And at our stop at the CERN Supercollider in Geneva, Switzerland.
Finally, here I am enjoying a great Swiss beer. I sense I will need even more alcohol as we continue covering the 2024 election.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY