Kamala Harris is a Democrat senator from California. She has been in the Senate for six months. According to media reports, she is also raising money for a run for president in 2020. Oh boy.
What do we really know about senator Harris? First, we have the most important items as far as many Democrats are concerned: 1. She's a woman. 2. Her mother was of Indian heritage. 3. Her father was of Jamaican heritage. That makes her the first South Asian/Caribbean American in the Senate.
The second thing we know is that senator Harris is a lawyer. After graduating from law school, she failed the bar exam more than once but kept trying to pass until she finally managed to do so. (That doesn't bode well for level of intelligence.) Despite her difficulties with the bar exam, Harris made it to be in the District Attorney's office in San Francisco (although I wonder if it was her ethnicity or her legal prowess that got her that job.) Then she became the Attorney General of California for two terms.
The third thing we know about senator Harris is that she has essentially no experience doing anything other than working in government. One has to wonder how she understands the every day struggles of ordinary Americans (if she has any clue about that at all.)
The last thing we know about Harris is that she has accomplished nothing in Washington. That's not surprising since she's only been there six months.
So given these facts, why would anyone think that Harris would make a good president? Her ethnicity cannot by itself be enough, right? We tried that and got Obama. That was more than enough for the country. Shouldn't we want a president who can either demonstrate some sort of life achievements either in or out of government? Remember, one big reason Hillary Clinton lost is that after decades of being in the public eye, there were no accomplishments that were hers (as opposed to her husband's.)
The Democrats already tried to win with a woman, thinking that gender alone would draw all sorts of women to vote for her. It didn't work. President Obama was able to draw extra turnout from the African American community that put him over the top in 2012. Will that same draw be there when the candidate's background is half south Asian and half Jamaican? I don't see why.
It is way too early for anyone to be campaigning for president. Still, Harris is already making the effort. Most likely, it will be a waste of time.
What do we really know about senator Harris? First, we have the most important items as far as many Democrats are concerned: 1. She's a woman. 2. Her mother was of Indian heritage. 3. Her father was of Jamaican heritage. That makes her the first South Asian/Caribbean American in the Senate.
The second thing we know is that senator Harris is a lawyer. After graduating from law school, she failed the bar exam more than once but kept trying to pass until she finally managed to do so. (That doesn't bode well for level of intelligence.) Despite her difficulties with the bar exam, Harris made it to be in the District Attorney's office in San Francisco (although I wonder if it was her ethnicity or her legal prowess that got her that job.) Then she became the Attorney General of California for two terms.
The third thing we know about senator Harris is that she has essentially no experience doing anything other than working in government. One has to wonder how she understands the every day struggles of ordinary Americans (if she has any clue about that at all.)
The last thing we know about Harris is that she has accomplished nothing in Washington. That's not surprising since she's only been there six months.
So given these facts, why would anyone think that Harris would make a good president? Her ethnicity cannot by itself be enough, right? We tried that and got Obama. That was more than enough for the country. Shouldn't we want a president who can either demonstrate some sort of life achievements either in or out of government? Remember, one big reason Hillary Clinton lost is that after decades of being in the public eye, there were no accomplishments that were hers (as opposed to her husband's.)
The Democrats already tried to win with a woman, thinking that gender alone would draw all sorts of women to vote for her. It didn't work. President Obama was able to draw extra turnout from the African American community that put him over the top in 2012. Will that same draw be there when the candidate's background is half south Asian and half Jamaican? I don't see why.
It is way too early for anyone to be campaigning for president. Still, Harris is already making the effort. Most likely, it will be a waste of time.
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