Biden’s VP Pick – Kamala Harris

It’s now official, Kamala Harris will be Biden’s running mate and a fairly good chance she becomes next vice-president.  If she does become vice-president, she will be the first woman to ever occupy this position.  On balance I think this was a good choice and while initially I was skeptical of her, I had been hoping in last few weeks Biden would chose her.

Initially, my biggest concern was she is from California and while nothing wrong with that; it is a solid blue state.  My thinking was next Democrat leader should come from Midwest which is the area the Democrats need to win back.  However with events that have happened since, I became more convinced she was right choice.  After George Floyd protests, I think this created a situation where she was perfect fit.  If Democrats want to win White House, stronger African-American turnout is key.  Had Clinton in 2016 maintained Black turnout that Obama had in 2012 in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida; she would have won all four states and thus the White House.  As we saw with Obama, having an African-American on the ticket can help.  Also right now there is a lot of hurt and anger in community with the continued systemic discrimination.  And while she won’t end it just as Obama didn’t, having someone who understands the systemic discrimination Black community faces can help.  On other hand I worried protests would turn suburban whites away from Democrats and that group is key to winning.  As a former prosecutor lawyer, Trump will have a tough time calling Biden/Harris as being soft on crime.  The other group is millennials.  Obama brought them out in big numbers, but Kerry in 2004 and Clinton in 2016 did not.  They generally like someone who is charismatic and excites them.  Harris like Obama has that charisma whereas Biden lacks it.  She is also very smart and capable.  As a daughter of immigrant parents, she in many ways represents what United States was founded on.  People who came with not much, but big dreams and with hard work could achieve the American dream.

On a final note, I believe her choice will be good for Canada.  At age 12 her family moved to Montreal where she graduated from high school before returning to the United States so she also has a Canadian connection.  That is definitely helpful as Canada/US relations have not been too good in past few years.