One of the more puzzling decisions of the Kamala Harris presidential campaign was to make numerous appearances with Liz Cheney, the far right neoconservative who is despised universally both by Republicans and Democrats. Now that Trump has prevailed, in part due to decisions like this, it’s likely that the blossoming friendship isn’t what it used to be.
End of the Affair
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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I wouldn’t say puzzling. In Richard Hooker’s book “M*A*S*H,” two of the doctors (Hawkeye and Duke Forrest) can’t decide on a differential diagnosis. So they go to Frank Burns, confident that he will make the wrong determination. They get his verdict and then (successfully) treat the patient for the other condition.
Harris’ “inexplicable” decisions were hardly that. Whatever that ineffable something is that makes a successful politician, Harris didn’t have it. Or at least not enough of it. Coupled with her irredeemably uncoordinated presentation of herself (the laugh, the fake accent, the rambling), she was simply not up to the task of running for president.
To invoke “M*A*S*H” again … In one scene of the series, Charles Winchester says, “that’s like being called the best hockey player in Ecuador.” Harris, in the special snowflake sanctuary of California’s democratic party, was able to achieve. She let guilty white liberals feel good about themselves. And her game was certainly good enough for that particular domain. But Trump? He was like a 17-year-old Canadian kid who’s been skating since he was 2. He ran her up and down the rink and barely broke a sweat.
“Give the voters a choice between a real Republican and a Democrat acting like a Republican, and they will choose the real thing every time”–Harry Truman.
The only thing I’d add to you analysis, Alex, is that none of this was “Harris’s determination.” She was just as much a puppet of the DNC back room as Biden, and everybody knew it, and everybody knows they have been making bad decisions for years.
> Whatever that ineffable something is that makes a successful politician, Harris didn’t have it.
The word you are looking for is “penis.” Ms. Harris’s stubbornness would have been considered resolve if she were Mr. Harris. Her incompetence would have been considered his honesty in admitting mistakes. Her wishy-washiness would have been considered his amazing ability to work with complex issues. Her word salad would have been considered his weave. Her code switching would have been considered his remarkable strength to adapt to different contexts (e.g., Vance is a Yalie or a hillbilly depending on his audience).