Democrats and their media lackeys are working overtime to completely recreate Kamala Harris in order to keep the White House out of Republican hands. Republicans are trying to hammer home the truth about the vice president and her numerous failures. That approach may not be enough.
Northwestern University infamously had a long football losing streak. During that period, I attended one of their games. Towards the middle of the third quarter, students sitting behind addressed the lopsided score against the home team by screaming in unison, “But our SAT scores are higher!!” And they were right. But it did not help them get the ball into the endzone.
We will be treated with a weird Washington period in which Joe Biden will constantly remind the world that he is the president of the United States, while all of the media focus will be on his vice president, who is running to replace him. Kamala Harris has so many political warts that it would seem that it would be a piece of cake to defeat her. My Israeli wife saw a video of her “unburdened by the past” shtick over and over again. She did not understand what the veep was trying to say; I told her that Kamala didn’t either. Then, I gave her a straightforward analogy: Enron. The company brilliantly moved all of its losses and liabilities to another company, thus making Enron and its balance sheet look exceptionally good. Kamala essentially says that rather than addressing issues from the past, one should simply forget them ("unburden") and only deal with the future. This is Kamala. She will ignore the disaster at the border that she helped create and only look to a future for which her failures never have to be addressed. The media will do everything to help her. Politico already tried to claim that she was never the “border czar” until someone brought an article from the same author writing about her being appointed the same.
There is a temptation amongst Republicans to simply let all of Kamala’s historical failures be the source of the argument against her. She has an enormous catalog of failures from her start as the other woman for powerful California politicians to her word salads and failures at all of her jobs, including the vice presidency. It certainly is entertaining to hear her meaningless speeches or see lists of her disasters as a prosecutor, senator, and vice president. But such an approach will not bring victory. The race for the presidency is, in many ways, like a high school popularity contest. Let’s look at some recent pairings and outcomes.
George Bush was far more approachable and pleasant than the haughty and aloof John Kerry. When former Swift Boat operators sunk his claimed Vietnam heroism, his candidacy was lost for good.
Barack Obama was more hip and well-spoken than either the petulant John McCain or brainiac Mitt Romney. Neither man came across as lovable or approachable. McCain was short-tempered with the press, and Romney was pinned down by his “binders full of women” and the family dog on the roof of the car.
Donald Trump had his mean tweets, but Hillary Clinton was a wooden candidate to whom average Americans could not relate. How many times did they “reintroduce” her, but it never helped? She never had the charm or the on-demand empathy (“I feel your pain”) of her husband.
Joe Biden was actively sold during the Covid pandemic as being the antidote to Donald Trump’s mean tweets, aggressive style, and disputes with foreign leaders. He barely left his basement, but that faux image of the even-headed grandfather figure who would stabilize the ship of state was what his handlers sold to the American public.
Post-shooting, Donald Trump appears as a doting grandfather, a wise statesman, and a patient politician. If he can keep this even keel image while Kamala presents leftwing bromides of an open border, no more fracking, the end of red meat, and gun confiscation, he can win the popularity contest. Kamala is grating in her presentation and style and is not a people person.
So, yes, the Republicans definitely should, whenever and wherever possible, bring up Kamala Harris’ failings on the border, as a prosecutor, as a supporter of BLM criminals, etc. But that will not win the election. Winning will require Donald Trump and JD Vance to put forth an approachable and positive image of a better, safer, more successful, and prosperous America. Donald Trump’s transformation into an elder statesman and loving father and grandfather is a huge plus against the thin-skin Harris, who has no children. The one child from her husband’s previous marriage is a Hamas supporter and professional lefty. Just shine the light on the serious Republican candidates and positive message versus the unpleasant Democratic candidate and her anti-American agenda in order to win.
We often think that the truth will win out. But as we have seen for nine months, those who support Hamas in the West do not care that their heroes raped, murdered, tortured, and kidnapped citizens, including Americans. The truth means nothing if it gets in the way of ideology, and the same is true for lefties who want nothing to do with a better America. Truth should always be a guiding light for the honest, but victory in November requires more. It demands more likable and approachable candidates. At this time, that advantage goes to Donald Trump.