Rich Lowry of National Review Online ponders a recent transformation for the American vice president.
How did Kamala Harris become so good at this?
How does a sub-par vice president get transformed nearly instantaneously into a joyful performer who can do no wrong?
It’s easy.
One of James Burnham’s laws was, “Where there is no alternative, there is no problem.” Since there was no alternative to pumping up Harris to star status — or the only alternative would be to sub out Joe Biden for a barely replacement-level politician — she’s now inspirational, hip, and beguilingly moderate.
In other words, Kamala has reversed the usual dynamic for getting considered a JFK- or Obama-level political talent: She is great because she’s the Democratic nominee; she’s not the Democratic nominee because she’s great.
If Biden had done the responsible thing and stepped aside last year, there presumably would have been a contested nomination battle. Kamala would have been the favorite and perhaps would have won the nomination. But she would have had to fight for it — doing town halls and interviews, participating in debates, defending her record, dealing with media scrutiny, and winning the support of real voters.
Securing a nomination is a major accomplishment, and there’s usually a moment when even the weakest nominee looks like he might have something going on: Wow — Dukakis is leading by 17 points. Or: Maybe this Jack Kemp pick has injected the note of energy into the ticket that Bob Dole needs. Etc.
Kamala didn’t have to prove her chops this way. To the contrary, that she did nothing to win the Democratic nomination has perversely smoothed her way to stardom.
A real nomination process would likely have exposed Kamala or at least would have made the current cocoon impossible. All her positions would have been litigated, and any change in policy would have been seized on and denounced by fellow Democrats.
