WhatsappMany people think that the United States has had lightweights that were elected President in the past. So, why can’t Kamala Harris also be elected? They don’t claim that Kamala Harris is an experienced hand or a qualified candidate. They claim that if Ronald Reagan could laugh his way into the Oval Office and Joe Biden can dawdle around, yet manage to keep the world from falling apart, then certainly a young Kamala Harris is ready. Moreover, her supporters claim that she is certainly more able than Sarah Palin was.
All of these arguments fail to learn the right lessons from the past. First off, Ronald Reagan was indeed a bright man with sufficient experience, despite being an actor in his younger years. Reagan was a successful governor and a seasoned politician by the time that he entered the national scene in the 1960’s as a Presidential candidate. By the time he was elected in 1980, he was perfectly suited to take over the helm.
Joe Biden, despite being past his prime and in the midst of perfectly normal cognitive struggles for an 80 year old person, entered the Oval Office as the most experienced politician to enter the Oval Office in recent history. He has served in Washington for more than 50 years in nearly every position. So, even if he is only operating at 50 or 70% of his regular capacity, he understands and is functioning at a reasonable level. That is why he is not above criticism. He knows what it means to run away from Afghanistan and leave billions of dollars worth of weapons there. Biden may be struggling, but he is responsible for the decisions that he has approved. He should know better.
But the Sarah Palin argument is the weakest of all. John McCain, a super capable Senator from Arizona, who was indeed a hero of the Vietnam War lost in his multiple bids to be elected President. He deserved to lose following his nomination of Sarah Palin. It was not only Saturday Night Live viewers who understood what an irresponsible choice she was. She had the right ideology and gender. But that was all she had before McCain catapulted her into the limelight in order to salvage his sagging campaign with an exciting candidate. Even Donald Trump would not pull a stunt like that. A new governor from Alaska is probably the least relevant candidate to propose as a candidate for Vice President.
Kamala Harris is less qualified than Sarah Palin was. But she is very close to becoming the next Democrat candidate for President.
