Kamala Harris/Tim Walz. Well, Duh.
I mean, seriously, I was going to vote for Biden anyway, even with the age issues. The current administration has spent the past four years digging out of the holes that the previous admin put us in, and has done an excellent job. Let's face it - the economy is better than most of Europe post-Covid. Stock market is up. Crime is (generally) down. Illegal immigration is down (but still there and still illegal). Inflation is really down (but still inflation). As legacies go, it's been pretty good.
And Kamala Harris has been there for the good stuff. Presiding over the Senate, she cast the deciding vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, and has helped with the recovery over the wishes of a brattish, do-nothing GOP. (The Republican-controlled House is the LEAST productive of any governing bodies since the 1960s, with the possible exception of ginning up investigations that do nothing but generate copy for FOX news). So yeah, she gets the credit for a good administration.
But she isn't just a continuation, she's a Biden-Plus - the good stuff you've gotten as a result of the Great Recovery and her own plans for first-time homebuyers. Decriminalization of pot. Protection of women's rights. Cap insulin prices across the board. Expand the Earned Income Tax credit. If she gets a fragment of her plans enacted, she's doing pretty good.
She has a LOT of experience in all three branches of the government - Judicial (Attorney General of California), Legislative (Senator), and Executive (the current gig as Veep). The resume is pretty damned solid. And let's add to the fact that she's pretty much put together her organization in 100 days, and has exceeded the expectations of even Biden's team.
But what's interesting about endorsements is the number of name-level Republicans, government, and military folk that are supporting her. A lot of them have "former" and "retired" in their title (as in "can't punish me for speaking my mind"). A lot of them have had first-hand previous experience with the convicted felon that's her opponent, and they want nothing to do with him. But the big thing with these types of endorsements is this: You can still vote for Harris and be considered a good Republican.
The other guy is, well, the other guy. He was the previous administration, and pretty much a complete collapse - screwing up COVID (while sending medical supplies to Putin), kowtowing to foreign authoritarians, threatening our own allies, running up the debt more than any other president, helping overturn Roe v. Wade. The wall that never got built, the infrastructure week that never happened, the replacement of the ACA that never occurred. Pretty much a dead loss as an administration. Mind you, he gives an entertaining speech, as he dances between subjects like a drunken badger on meth. Most of the people who worked for him are not supporting him, and many are publicly going for Harris. He does have his ardent supporters, who hope he hangs around long enough to pass some dreadful conservative legislation. They just want someone with a pulse. Though we don't know for sure because he won't share his medical records (Harris did, of course).
And he seems tired. Worn out. Non-linear. He says he's doing "the weave", and we just can't get the depths of his sagacity. He'll be claiming to do zen koans next. I feel real sorry for him, and I wonder why the mainstream media isn't talking more about Woodrow Wilson (who was incapacitated late in the administration, and access to him (and his decisions) was controlled by a small group of people).
Eight years ago I put forward the idea that his approach was to "Flood the Zone" - say and do so much that is wrong that no one can keep up with you. Just keep piling crime upon crime, insult upon insult, weirdness on weirdness. Stage an embarrassing photo op at a closed MacDonald's? By the time people call you on it, you're out there talking about Arnold Palmer's junk. And while that is sinking in you mention how Hitler had the best generals. Because if you ever stop delaying and denying, the entire mass of insults and lies will collapse and crush you.
There are others running. Jill Stein and the Greens are running to deny Harris a majority, so then people will pay attention the THEIR issues (because that always worked in previous elections). RFK Jr is still on the ballot in Washington State because he didn't drop out fast enough, and will probably drain off some Republicans that can't bear to vote for the guy that promised RFK Jr a place in his administration. The rest are minor players in this particular passion play. Thanks for showing up.
But like I said, I was pleased to put my name on the list of Gamers for Harris, and declare my support. And I think she's going to be a great president.
More later,