"SLOUCHING TOWARDS THE ELECTION"

 “SLOUCHING TOWARDS THE ELECTION”

Over a year ago, many of us were urging President Biden to decline to run for another term.  While most of his policies were decent, he was looking old and worn-out, and I did not think that he had the stamina to run or to serve a second term as president.  As it became clear that Donald Trump would receive the Republican nomination, it seemed imperative that Biden step aside and allow the Democrats to choose a more formidable candidate to run against Trump.  As Nikki Haley put it, “the first party to drop their 80 year old candidate will win the presidency.”  At that time, I urged Biden to announce in a timely fashion that he would not run again.  That would allow the Dems to have a somewhat orderly process to pick their nominee – Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Cory Booker, Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, Stacey Abrams or some other candidate.

Biden did not decline to run again in a timely fashion, and his egoistic delay has cost the Democrats dearly.  Only his stumbling debate performance in late June forced him to withdraw in late July, leaving no candidate the opportunity to  develop a strong profile and candidacy to run for president.  This is no knock against Vice-President Kamala Harris – under the circumstances, she is running a fine race.  There simply may not be enough time for the American people to get to know her and her strengths.  That responsibility lies at the feet of one of the two old white men, who seem unable and unwilling to pass the torch to a new generation, which Kamala Harris now represents.

I’m borrowing a closing phrase from W.B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” to represent some of my feelings about this election:

“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,   

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

I’m using this phrase because it seems obvious to me that Kamala Harris is by far the better candidate for President of the United States than Donald Trump.  Yet, Biden’s clinging to a second term for so long has severely limited Harris’ ability to run an effective campaign.  All the polls show a very tight race, and that makes me think that Trump has a chance to win a second term as president, which is a scary prospect – the rough beast slouching towards Washington to stamp out what is left of American democracy.

Vice-President Kamala Harris is a formidable candidate for President – she was my choice in 2019 before her inexperienced candidacy caused her to drop out.  I am impressed with her ability to learn from her mistakes, to be nimble on her feet in interviews, her commitment to middle class and working people, and with her combination of strength, humor, and insight.  She combines the agility of Barack Obama with the down-homeness of Bill Clinton, and she clearly has the intellectual power to do the job.  I am also impressed with her decision not to pound out the fact that if she wins, she will be the first woman President.  It is as if she is saying that the debate over women presidents is over – get over it, it is no big deal, because women are (and always have been) capable of being President.

Trump and his MAGA movement have made this a difficult time in American politics, and I am hoping that people are simply tired of Trump and all his melodrama – give us a decent and sane person for a change!  The MAGAs will not go away if Trump loses – there has always been a MAGA movement flowing through American history.  But, perhaps a Harris victory will point us towards a time when the multicultural society, that is being forged demographically in this country, will have more legitimacy than it does now.  Right now, we are in a battle to see if white people (especially white men) will acknowledge the multicultural society that is coming.  Indeed, the state of Georgia is already barely majority “white.”  That is a huge sea change, which will need a leader like Kamala Harris to help us negotiate.  If Trump wins, we will continue to have the tantrums of white men seeking to dominate our story.

Caroline and I had the privilege of voting for Harris and Walz on Wednesday, and we were impressed that over 1,300,000 people voted early in Georgia in this first week of voting (5 million votes overall expected in Georgia).  Such a great turnout in early voting has generally boded well for Democrats, but the Repubs have learned from Stacey Abrams and others about the benefit of early voting.  On this day of October 21, I believe (and I desperately hope) that Kamala Harris will win the Presidency, but I am also aware of the high stakes and the close race.  In that sense, rather than entitling the blog “Sailing Towards Victory in the Election,” my gut feeling remains “Slouching Towards the Election.”  You can choose which title prevails by voting for Harris and making sure that all of your friends, neighbors, and colleagues do the same.  As I wrote in the 2020 election, please vote – if Trump wins, this may be our last meaningful vote.  Let’s make sure that our votes continue to count for many years to come.