Unoriginal thought: Biden did right thing, Harris has the goods, just listen to her

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for President as the presumptive Democratic candidate during an event at West Allis Central High School on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

I pride myself as one able to write about sports, people, politics, government, a little history and, sure, pro wrestling and music, too.

Like, you know who should have had a real run with the NWA belt, Barry Windham, that’s who. Never not phenomenal yet forever in the shadow of Flair, Dusty, Sting, Lugar and Steamboat, or trapped in tag battles alongside Mike Rotundo.

Or, you know Duran Duran’s best song? “Hungry Like the Wolf,” right?

But what if I told you it was “Hold Back the Rain,” from the same album. Listen to it and tell me I’m wrong.

Or, metal’s best voice, though I love the guy, is not Ronnie James Dio but Queensryche’s Geoff Tate.

I could go on, about how Neal Peart wasn’t just the planet’s best drummer, but maybe the best lyricist, too; or how Steve Perry’s brilliant singing overshadowed Neal Schon’s brilliant guitar work; or to ask why Jack Kemp’s opportunity driven conservatism never took hold in the GOP, leaving Republicans wishing it 1952 all over again since; or how the best team never to win a championship used to be 1983 Nebraska, which fell to Miami at the 1984 Orange Bowl, but since March 30, 1991 has been the UNLV hoops team of Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and Anderson Hunt that lost its first game to Duke at the Final Four.

The key is having something original, even previously unconsidered, and when you stop and think about it, arguably correct, to say (and write).

Yet, right now, while originality is difficult, arguably correct is quite easy — because I listened to Kamala Harris speak on Monday and Tuesday and she’s nailing it and anybody else watching her must think she’s nailing it, too.

She laid out her campaign message in a few short minutes and, holy cow, why didn’t somebody think about doing that sooner?

---

---

Of course, Joe Biden offered a selfless profile in courage and lack of ego on Sunday, taking himself out of the race upon finally understanding his victory window to be preposterously narrow and, yes, wouldn’t you know it, in one of our political parties, country really is more important than party or self.

Of course, Republicans apoplectically don’t know now what to do, for they thought they’d be running against a feeble old man progressively incapable of delivering a coherent message.

Of course, we thought, upon understanding the president’s decision, it might all go down at the convention like it really was 1952 all over again, only that now appears unlikely, Harris having already secured support from a majority of Democratic delegates.

So it’s her and Monday and Tuesday she knocked it out of the park and, describing it, I’m finding it hard to be original.

Best to just go with her words.

“I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” she said, referring to her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, before pausing, “… Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”

Finally, an articulate candidate.

She ticked a bit through Biden’s record, mentioning he’d led the nation past COVID, created 15 million new jobs and has unwaveringly supported democracy at home and democracy abroad and when she said that last part, I perked up and thought, yeah, only Democrats seem to believe in democracy right now so maybe they should keep saying it.

Harris closed with this question.

“What kind of country do we want to live in?” she said. “A country of freedom, compassion and rule of law or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”

Again, I thought, yes, why haven’t these things been articulated by the Democratic presidential candidate, clearly and emphatically, until now?

The thing is they kind of were.

Biden was defending his record and drawing contrasts between himself and Trump all along, only he wasn’t saying it very strongly, articulately or with an economy of words that could be heard, processed and understood, not to mention we weren’t really listening to him in the first place.

We were grading him instead.

Did he sound old or out of it?

Did he sound like he was responding weakly or like he was prosecuting powerfully?

Would others hear him and wonder if he’s too old or slow to communicate or would they hear him and actually stop and think about the things he’d just been saying.

When Harris speaks, I think about the things she’s just been saying.

I think, yes, that’s us.

I think, yes, that’s America.

I think, yes, it really is that simple.

Though thankful for a few Republicans in this state, Gentner Drummond atop of the list, I thought what the hell do they offer beyond our state?

• Appointing judges who take long established freedoms away.

• Unfettered access to guns, even automatic weapons, without background checks.

• Continued tax breaks for the absolute wealthiest among us.

• Making voting more difficult.

• Making health care more difficult to obtain.

• Making horrible men like Ryan Walters possible and perhaps putting him in the next Republican cabinet.

What are they for that even begins to value all Americans, that doesn’t fall in line with an us vs. them narrative.

It’s true, many more Americans are in line with Democratic policy than Republican policy. The trick has always been trudging through made up culture wars well enough to get them to know it.

Finally, there’s a messenger, who’s also a vice president, who isn’t afraid of herself nor her opponent.

“We’re not going back,” Harris said. “You’re not taking us back.”

I believe her.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were good days for America.

---

If you appreciate this kind of writing, or think it’s important, please consider a donation in the form of a paid subscription. Though this column and others about state politics and government tend to be made available to all, such donations keep Oklahoma Columnist going. As always, thanks for reading. It’s never taken for granted.