Creating drama over his VP pick, 77-year-old Joe Biden’s pushed-and-prodded by the Democrat elite to pick a black woman running mate, whether he wants to or not. While it’s clear Biden has the black vote, to assure that they turn up on Election Day, Biden has no choice but to pick a black woman running mate. Looking at his former rivals, Sen. Elizabeth Warrant (D-Mass.) or Sen. Amy Klobushar (D-Minn), neither candidate adds anything other that blah to the ticket. Warren’s a feisty campaigner but she attracts little interest from minorities, despite claiming Native American ancestry. Most voters don’t see Warren as especially oriented toward minority voters, unlike Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who appeals to Latino voters. Bernie overwhelmingly attracted Latino voters, concerned about upward mobility, looking for government help with health care, education and immigration.
Warren gets Biden no minority votes in a year where the margins of victory will be razor thin, needing all the help he can get from blacks and Latinos. Biden appeared Thursday, May 13 with 46-year-old former Georgian gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abraams, someone who’s actively courted Biden for VP. Abrams has the right black credentials but has zero experience on the national stage. Joe’s hinted that a running mate should be ready to hit the ground running as president, if Biden’s health deteriorates. At 77-years-of-age, Biden’s the oldest candidate for president in U.S. history. Running for president in the age of Covid-19, Biden hopes conventional wisdom on the economy prevails, giving him a leg up on Trump. Yet 2020 is anything but conventional, with the deadly coronaviurs AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 pandemic dominating the headlines.
To beat Trump in the all-important battleground states, Biden’s got to convince primarily white voters that he’s the best one to lead the country back from a crushing recession. Biden’s economic credentials are unremarkable, leaving most voters to consider who’s in the best place to lead the country out of recession. There’s zero evidence in any polling that voters see Biden as better equipped than Trump to fix the broken U.S. economy. When it comes to a VP, Biden needs someone with economic gravitas, making up for his own deficiencies. If Joe picks someone like Abrams, he gives voters no reassurance that they’re up to the task to mending a broken economy. Biden has a long list of potential black female VP candidates, including Abrams, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fl.) and former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch.
When Biden faced a do-or-die situation heading into the South Carolina Democrat primary, he looked for help from Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.). Clyburn urged Biden in the strongest possible terms to pick an African American woman. “I really believe that we’ve reached a point in this country where African American women need to be rewarded for the loyalty that they’ve given to the party,” Clyburn said. “We need a ticket that reflects the diversity of America,” Abrams said. “Because women of color—particularly black women—are the strongest part of the Democrat Party, the most loyal,” Abrams said. Abrams knows that African Americans make up roughly 12% of the U.S. population, a small part of the Democrat Party. Why Abrams thinks Biden can’t win an election without a “women of color” is anyone’s guess. Stacy seems to be lobbying hard to become Joe’s running mate.
Unlike former President Barack Obama, the nation’s first black Democrat Party nominee and President, Biden lacks charisma and speech-making prowess. If Biden’s going to survive the next six months and make to the “promised land,” his running mate is going to have to generate excitement. That pretty much rules out Warren and Klobushar, both capable politicians but not especially appealing. Warren finished distance fourth-or-fifth places in Democrat primaries, not because she didn’t know her stuff but because she comes across shrill and at times tedious. Whether Biden likes it or not, he has to pick a black running mate, putting Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as the prohibitive favorite. As much as Abrams wants to get back in the game, he lacks the experience needed to step into the VP role with confidence. Harris has been in the U.S. Senate since Jan. 3, 2017.
Biden’s choices for VP are far narrower than anyone thinks. When he really looks at his choices, only Harris offers him a possible path to the White House. Counting on the Covid-19 epidemic would be a mistake for Biden, hoping to slam Trump for not waving a magic wand. Biden needs to add some pizzazz to the ticket, something that doesn’t cut it with Warren or Klobushar. Abrams has plenty of energy but she lacks the experience needed for the Oval Office. Only Harris offers Joe enough experience and youthful enthusiasm, something she brings to the ticket. Biden found out firsthand on the debate stage that Kamala can be a tough cookie, someone that doesn’t shrink from confrontation. Abrams may be right that Joe needs diversity on the ticket to get the black community to the polls in 2020. Hating Trump isn’t enough to motivate most minorities to go to the polls. Adding a tough prosecutor like Kamala gives Biden his best shot in 2020.
