Joe Biden is old. That isn’t a controversial statement. In fact, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released today, 77 percent of Americans believe that Biden is too old to effectively serve another term as president. That number is at 69 percent for Democrats. That’s what Nikki Haley was referring to yesterday, when she posted a graphic on X (formerly Twitter) saying “a vote for Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris.” Consulting actuarial tables is convincing argument enough that Biden may not make it through the entirety of a second term, and, in that case, Harris would indeed become president. Of course, because of certain immutable traits Harris holds, the usual suspects cried foul.
Atlantic contributing writer and former ESPN personality Jemele Hill responded, arguing that “part of the reason racism is such a terrible sickness in this country is because politicians know they can rally a certain base with the fear of OH MY GOD A BLACK WOMAN MIGHT BE PRESIDENT IF YOU DON’T VOTE FOR ME.”
Framing all criticism of black politicians as racism isn’t a new tactic. Former Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) once suggested that GOP opposition to the Obama administration’s policies was because of the 44th president’s race. Representative Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) claimed that Republicans were against Obamacare “because a black man created it” and that conservatives have warned against the dangers of big government only “since a black man became president.” Even a former president, Jimmy Carter, accused Republicans of opposing Obama’s health-care plan because of racism. These are all, of course, ridiculous contentions; it is not racist to oppose policies simply because their proponent is black.
Now, the same electric fence deployed around Obama is being set up around Harris in order to spare Democrats from having to acknowledge that there can be legitimate criticism of their positions. And there are plenty of legitimate arguments to be made against Harris’s fitness for office. Here’s a collection of 100 percent genuine Kamala Harris quotes:
On Ukraine: “I am here, standing here on the northern flank, on the eastern flank, talking about what we have in terms of the eastern flank and our NATO allies, and what is at stake at this very moment, what is at stake at this very moment are some of the guiding principles . . .”
On the Biden administration’s Covid strategy: “It is time for us to do what we have been doing. And that time is every day. Every day it is time for us to agree that there are things and tools that are available to us to slow this thing down.”
On significance, and on the passage of time: “The significance of the passage of time, right? The significance of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time . . . there is such great significance to the passage of time.”
On working together: “We must together work together to see where we are, where we are going, where we are headed, and our vision for where we should be. But also see it as a moment to, together, address the challenges and to work on the opportunities.”
Haley’s warning that reelecting Biden could mean eventually handing the keys to Harris has absolutely nothing to do with the vice president’s skin color. It has everything to do with her abilities, or rather her inability to string together a few coherent sentences, which may contribute to her dismal approval ratings. Pretending otherwise is a dishonest smear that lowers our political discourse at a time when we all need to aim higher.