Biden's Dilemma: To Run With Harris Again?
The most effective senators spend time getting to know other lawmakers. Harris never lingered long to vote and visit. I agree with critics that her political gifts are not ready for primetime.
The vice president has not had a good moment in front of the American public yet. Most disapprove of her.
Harris seems uneasy in public speaking, missing notes of gravitas, as at Arlington National Cemetery among graves in the rain.
The former prosecutor speaks in few keys. She excels in sharp questions at confirmation hearings.
But odd bursts of laughter in speeches and interviews appear as awkward self-defense. She's working on that habit.
Despite Harris' delicate perch as the first woman -- and person of color -- to play her part, Biden may cut the cord. The first Black president, Obama ruptured their relationship to support Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Abraham Lincoln's tragic flaw was changing vice presidents, choosing bitter Southern racist Andrew Johnson.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt let go of his vice president, Henry Wallace, and ran with Sen. Harry Truman in 1944. That worked out well.
Two governors in their 50s, Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., and Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., wait in the wings.
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Jamie Stiehm may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. Follow her on Twitter @JamieStiehm. To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit Creators.com.
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