Monday, August 10, 2020

Rice or Harris?

Both are highly intelligent, capable and accomplished. From a political perspective both are demographically good picks.  But my choice would be Harris.

She is has a slightly sharper tongue when needed. Rice is more careful and guarded in her speech. Biden needs someone who will give Trump no quarter, but do so pithily so that it registers with his marginal voters. Rice's greater circumspection, while laudable, wouldn't hit home with the non-college educated crowd.

Harris has run successfully for elected office and since she is likely to be the Democratic nominee in 2024, that gives her an advantage over Rice.

Rice's unfortunate entanglement with the alt-right / Tea Party Benghazi obsession is a problem this cycle and next. Although she now seems to understand that Hilary may have set her up to take the fall, that bell can't be un-rung.

On the same theme, while for Obama supporters her position in his administration is a positive, those aren't the voters the Dems need to get on board; those they do need to persuade may not view her time in Obama's administration as a positive.

Rice would indeed make a fine president very much in Obama's mold; calm, deliberative, cautious, intelligent. But those qualities may not be what the county needs to purge the vile, ugly stain Trump has left on the White House.   

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