Kamala Harris, who ran a miserable campaign for president and had a rocky start as vice president, will likely be nominated as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee next month.
Unlike President Joe Biden, who top Democrats, led by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, believed had almost no chance of beating Donald Trump, Harris would at least be in the ball game – if she learns lessons from her previous poor performances.
Biden reluctantly withdrew from the race today under pressure, and endorsed Harris as his successor.
Many Democrats, relieved by the president’s decision, have concerns nonetheless about Harris. Republicans will try to define her in the worst possible terms in the coming days, and it’s critical that she fight back and counter that. And she has to settle now on what will be her campaign strategy and her defining issues.
There are signs that she may be ready this time. The former prosecutor should be far more able than Biden to go on the offense against Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance on abortion rights, an issue that helps Democrats a lot, but one that was uncomfortable for Biden. Most importantly, there are clear signs that her job performance over the past couple of years has been better than the public perception of........