What Has She Accomplished As Vice President?

An Empty Suit Is Only A Small Improvement Over Senile Dementia

politico  |  Kamala Harris launched her first presidential campaign five years ago to great expectations. She had a growing profile as a no-nonsense interrogator in the Senate, heavyweight support from Hollywood to Wall Street and the raw talent of a once-in-a-generation leader.

Harris’ admirers — not to mention aides and members of her inner circle — detest the mere thought of that painful time. She’s been vice president for four years, they say, standing in for President Joe Biden around the world and becoming the party’s preeminent voice on abortion rights. She’s confident, they contend, and battle-tested. The Kamala Harris of 2024 is light-years better than the Harris of 2019.But the searing experience remains an indelible stain on her image, even after the 59-year-old Democrat spent the last half-decade steadily improving on the biggest stage imaginable.

Her near-perfect introduction as the Democrats’ standard-bearer is a testament to the hard work she’s put in. But Harris has never dealt with an opponent as ferocious as former President Donald Trump. He’ll seize on any perceived weakness and attack every vulnerability.

That means she needs to figure out how to neutralize her exposure on the border and immigration. Harris will need a crisp answer when talking about stubbornly high inflation. She must stem the slow-rolling erosion of the Democratic coalition that occurred on Biden’s watch and energize young voters, Latinos and other voters of color while holding Biden’s white working-class support across the industrial Midwestern battleground states. As a woman of color, she has to worry about calibrating her approach in ways that may seem unfair, and, at times, limiting. She has a momentous decision to make — her own vice presidential pick — and very little time to make it. In short, there is no margin for the kind of errors that plagued her first presidential bid.

To do all these things, and win the 100-day sprint to Election Day, she’ll need to bury the ghosts of that first bid. Here’s how she can do it:

 

 

This is amazing 😂
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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 26, 2024

Little Buckwheat Is Gonna Outlast Anita Dunn

NYPost  |  Top aides to President Biden secretly hatched a plan this past fall to replace White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre by recruiting outside allies to nudge her out the door, The Post has learned.

Jean-Pierre, who made history in May 2022 by becoming the first black and first openly gay person to hold the position, had developed the exasperating habit of reading canned answers directly from a binder to reporters at her regular briefings — offering what her superiors viewed as a less-than-compelling pitch for the 81-year-old Biden as he readied his re-election campaign.

De facto White House communications chief Anita Dunn, 66, the wife of Biden personal attorney Bob Bauer, told colleagues she had decided to call in prominent Democrats to explain to Jean-Pierre, 49, that the time was ripe to move on, sources told The Post.

SCAPEGOATS - HEADS MAY ROLL AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Anita Dunn, who is currently serving as a Senior Advisor to President Biden and plays a crucial role in the administration's strategy and messaging, is being fiercely blasted by Biden's inner circle over the debate disaster. In case… pic.twitter.com/QXb0SYRTyR

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) June 30, 2024

“There were a number of people she asked to engage Karine,” said one source who heard of the strategy directly from Dunn, whose role as senior adviser has been filled during the past three presidencies by Jared Kushner (Donald Trump), Valerie Jarrett (Barack Obama) and Karl Rove (George W. Bush).

While Jean-Pierre isn’t going anywhere, the issues that brought about Dunn’s failed machinations remain — with both sources saying the press secretary is too reliant on notes to provide the pushback and quick-thinking repartee needed to effectively champion Biden’s cause.

“Karine doesn’t have an understanding of the issues and she reads the book [binder] word-for-word,” said the second source, adding that the situation is made worse by the fact that “she thinks she’s doing an amazing job.”

“She doesn’t have a grasp of the issues and doesn’t spend the time to learn,” this person said.

“These issues are not second nature to people. Israel and Gaza is a perfect example. It’s very nuanced. Jen would have calls with people to feel well-versed enough to go to the briefing.”

“There’s an enormous amount of work that goes into getting ready,” the first source said, “and consistently she does not put in that level of work.”

In response, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told The Post: “Not only are these claims wildly false, but the reality is the polar opposite. Karine was never approached by anyone with such a message. She spends four hours preparing every day. And neither Jeff nor Anita did any such thing; both have been unflinchingly supportive of her.”

Bates added Friday morning: “Every press secretary uses the binder. Why is she being singled out?”