The same day that President Biden pledged to “pass the torch,” pro-Hamas militants torched D.C. and vandalized its monuments. But the one who took the torch – Vice President Kamala Harris – is denying any link whatsoever to the protesters. “I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews,” Harris said. “Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation.”
Well, she didn’t actually say-say it, in the sense that those words never left her lips. Instead, it was just a (very nice) statement released by her office. Harris wasn’t there to physically say it because she wasn’t in Washington, D.C. The VP skipped Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s congressional address to visit Indianapolis, prioritizing a campaign speech to Zeta Phi Beta, an African American sorority.
Still, it was a lovely sentiment.
But when she returned to D.C., it wasn’t those words that left her lips; it was these: “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent. …Let’s get the deal done so we can get a cease-fire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home, and let’s provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people.”
Tonally, there’s a noticeable shift.
But substantively, there’s not much meat on the bone: Boilerplate platitudes and vague, aspirational, long-term objectives don’t really tell a voter what a Harris presidency would do in the Middle East. It’s empty rhetorical calories. Okay, she’s anti-Hamas – and bravo for that (clap-clap) – but what does the rest of it mean?
We can probably deduce slivers of it, of course: 2024 is an election year, and Kamala Harris is, among other things, a politician seeking office. Since a huge percentage of her base is significantly more sympathetic to the Palestinians than the Israelis, she has a vested interest in placating that side. (Hey, there’s a party to consolidate and a nomination to win!)
The escalating anti-Israel and anti-Jew sentiment in the Democratic Party isn’t only obvious to Republicans – it’s caught the attention of wealthy, left-leaning Jewish voters. It took a while (a surprisingly LONG while), but after the systemic harassment of Jews on college campuses and the proliferation of vile, repugnant, anti-Semitic sloganeering at liberal gatherings, many of the same scions who happily stroked checks to pretty much any left-wing cause have suddenly closed their checkbooks. And so, if you’re a Democratic candidate with national aspirations, you must either side with your young activist base, which loathes Israel (and is deeply suspicious of Jewish dual-loyalty), or your older donor base, which is still pro-Israel and fears domestic terrorist attacks on Jewish people and institutions.
Joe Biden’s strategy was to coddle the pro-Hamas left and bash Bibi ad nauseam but mostly stake a traditionalist Democratic path in the Middle East. It didn’t leave either side very happy, but it didn’t totally alienate anyone, either, other than the most extreme 10%.
Kamala Harris’s strategy, however, is a complete unknown.
One of the curses of the vice presidency is its subservience to the presidency. Vice President John Garner famously said the office wasn’t “worth a bucket of warm spit.” (Well, actually, he didn’t say spit – in his original quote, he referred to, ahem, a different bodily fluid. Historians later cleaned up his quote.) It’s a position with the trappings of power and proximity to those truly in charge – but it has a demeaning quality, too. You’re the understudy – a second banana – the Ed McMahon of the Executive Branch.
It’s a splendid job for those unencumbered by testicular fortitude because you’re no longer a leader – you’re a follower. You’re the parrot on the captain’s shoulder, repeating whatever he says and going wherever he goes.
Which makes people think you’re a wimp.
It seems utterly unfathomable, but President George H. W. Bush – one of the youngest fighter pilots in World War II and a bona fide hero of the Pacific Campaign – was accused of being a wimp when he ran against that rugged, handsome he-man from Massachusetts, Governor Michael Dukakis. Newsweek even put Bush on its cover with “Fighting the ‘Wimp Factor’” in bold letters.
President George H. W. Bush didn’t look like a wimp. He was 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. He was a literal war hero! But because he was subservient to the president, Newsweek argued, he looked like a wimp. The article quoted a Democratic pollster (because, of course it did) named Peter Hart, who sneered, “Fairly or unfairly, voters have a deep-rooted perception of [Bush] as a guy who takes direction, who’s not a leader.”
A vice president’s greatest asset to the president is total, unwavering, unconditional loyalty. That’s it. It’s not a position for bold, plain-speaking Alphas who yearn to blaze their own trail. You’re not the lead in the play; you’re the understudy. The president is the star; at best, you’re a famous face somewhere in the chorus.
The mainstream media has been so effusive in their Kamala Kampaign Koverage that they’ve missed the much bigger story: For as long as Joe Biden is president, Kamala Harris is tethered to his star. She can’t really break with him on major policy. She can’t define herself by boldly claiming new, innovative positions. If she does, it’ll come across as Machiavellian and disloyal. But if she doesn’t, she comes across as what they accused President Bush of being:
A wimp.
As the Harris honeymoon runs its course, keep a close eye on Biden’s role in her campaign. No, he’s not running for reelection, but he didn’t resign from office, either. He’s still there. (Probably eating ice cream and mumbling to himself.)
Either way, this is it for the octogenarian. When his term is over, so is he! So, Biden will be highly motivated to maximize the little time he has left… whether Kamala Harris likes it or not. Remember, he’s not leaving because he wanted to; he’s leaving because he was forced to. To quote Barack Obama, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f—k things up.”
There’s a “wimp factor” coming. Watch out.
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