In nearly every presidential primary campaign, there's a moment when a candidate stands out from the others, when they step forward and make a lasting impression on the voters that can really help push them into the nomination. Sometimes, it happens even before they're a candidate, as when a young Senator Barack Obama gave a memorable and moving speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. Other times it happens right at the moment when a candidate announces an interest in running, as when Trump openly made bigoted statements about Mexican immigrants almost immediately after announcing his candidacy, letting the world know that his candidacy would be like no other in modern history, propelling him to the top in 2016. Last night, during the second Democratic debate, Senator Kamala Harris may have had such a moment.
She already had started off strong before the moment came, shushing people talking over each other with a clearly prepared but effective line: “America does not want a food fight, they want to know how we’re going to put food on their table!”. It silenced the talking and won applause from the crowd. But her real breakout moment came when she leaned in against front runner in the polls, Joe Biden. “I do not believe you are a racist,” she began,“ but it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing. And, you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me.” The way that she turned a complement into a criticism, went after both a controversial statement and a past position by Biden, and then personalized it at the end, with just the right amount of emotion (no tears, but a slight quaver in her voice at the end) really hit her point home. Like the earlier line, it was clearly rehearsed in advance, but so what? It had a mixture of anger and sadness that cuts through the usual political rhetoric. And, without stating it outright, it made a generational argument about the 76 year old Biden and his pining for the good ol' days of politics when senators got along, while forgetting that some of those senators literally ran pro segregationist campaigns.
And Biden's befuddled response to Harris's attack did not look good, as he lamely sputtered about busing being a state's rights issue. Clearly she took the moment. And it really shows how unprepared Biden is for the race; it's now common knowledge that Biden's own advisors have told him to stop telling the story about getting along with those pro segregationist senators, and he just ignored them. Now that story has come back to bite him, illustrating why Biden had no luck in his previous attempts at the presidency in 1988 and 2008.
Of course, I could be wrong about all of this, and Biden could still sail into the nomination with the support of older Democrats who just want to beat Trump. But after last night, most of the talk is about Harris. And from the night before, Elizabeth Warren, with her striking intellect and ability to spell out specific plans for the country's problems, was also seen as the big winner. This raises the possibility that the Democratic ticket could have two women on it (just who's name would come first is the big question!). While I love this idea at first, it does make me wonder if this country is still not ready to elect a woman president. Remember that 2016 Hillary Clinton ran as a highly experienced, clear headed candidate, and she still lost to the rampaging Trump. Having another woman lose to Trump in 2020 could be utterly demoralizing to the country, maybe even more upsetting than his win in 2016. Still and all, I think Harris, as a former prosecutor, has the wherewithal to stand up to Trump in the debates and eviscerate his lies and boasts, making her my favorite candidate out of the 23 Democrats running for the nomination.
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