So, Deena and I watched the CNN interview last evening with Dana Bash. I decided to add my two cents to the post-game critique as Coach Walz might call it. This is my take on the CNN interview.
I consider myself a student of politics. Sixty years ago, I first got interested in politics when Senator Barry Goldwater ran for President. At the time, I was a confused teenager who got mixed up in the John Birch Society (JBS), which at the time, was about as conservative as a political organization could be (though Robert Welch, the founder, always insisted the JBS was an educational organization.) I read every book and tract available through Western Isles, the JBS book club. A few years later after reading almost book that John Steinbeck wrote, and then becoming a Christian, I swung to the left of center and lost complete interest in right wing politics.
I majored in public policy in my graduate degree program and then did about forty more hours post-grad in politics, specifically, American Government, Comparative Politics and International Relations. Finally, I taught undergraduate, introductory American Government and also Texas Government for more than a quarter of a century at both colleges and a public university as well. What follows is my critique of the two candidates.
I thought that while the interview was not a disaster for Harris and Walz, that neither did it win them any points.
FIRST DAY IN OFFICE
Dana Bash asked V-P Harris what she would do on her first day in office. Kamala Harris may not have understodd the question the same way I did. I understood Bash to mean “What specific activities will you do when sworn in?” V-P Harris replied by giving part of her stump speech about economic relief for the middle class, making homes affordable, etc. She probably should have said “I plan to hit the ground running, sending “X” number of pieces of legislation to be introduced to Congress, signing “X” number of executive orders, having a future-oriented cabinet named and awaiting confirmation, calling all of our major allies around the world to reassure them of our commitments abroad, etc. I think she will need to improve on this before she meets Trump next month. He has an agenda for his first day. He will be a dictator.
FRACKING
V-P Harris was also asked about fracking, specifically whether she flip-flopped on the issue (She was initially in 2020 against it. Now that she needs to win Pennsylvania where the people in the Keystone state hope to create jobs in the fracking industry, she is in favor of it.) Fracking, by the way, is when hot, pressurized fluid is injected into the stratified rock layers underground in order to retrieve shale oil or some other raw petroleum product. Harris did not give Dana Bask a good answer, insisting that her values have not changed (by “value,” i presume she means a clean environment.) Bash was not happy with the answer and came back to it again.
My advice to V-P Harris would be to point out first of all that she is not an ideologue. She is a thoughtful, practical person who knows that sometimes life throws us unforeseen crises, like 9/11. Like the Pandemic. Candidate George W. Bush promised voters in 2000 that American troops would not get involved in “nation-building” if he were elected. Yet, two years later we were doing just that in Afghanistan and Iraq. But you could not blame President Bush because he had to get involved in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on America. So there was a reason he had to break that promise. In 2016, Trump said over and over and over that Mexico would pay for the border wall. So then why did he keep asking Congress for money to do so? Why did he misappropriate funds form other executive departments for it? Isn’t that a flip-flop, too? And what is Trump’s current (i.e., this months position on abortion, contraception and in vitro fertilization?). Because I’m certain that it’s different than it was in 2020 and 2016. It may be different than it was last June.
Again, I’m in favor of protecting the environment, but sometimes the national interest dictates that we loosen up a bit on the controls. That’s not flip-flopping. Another point is that policy sometimes evolves in response to what the voters see as important at the moment, what decisions the courts reach and so on. Saying that a person can’t make up their mind is hardly a good answer.
THE SOUTHERN BORDER
In the U.S., we have a federal system with a strong Chief Executive. We do not have a plural executive system much to the chagrin of William Patterson and the delegation at the Constitutional Convention from New Jersey. One President who decides what policy is, and a Vice-President that carries out that policy unless, like with Mike Pence on January 6, 2021, the V-P believes that the policy violates the Constitution and could lead to great harm (recall the make shift gallows that Trump supporters errected on the Capital lawn.) If Harris had free reign to govern on her own, she would not be V-P today. George H.W. Bush worked for Ronald Reagan. Gore worked for Clinton. That’s just how things are done. You cannot have two people competing against each other. Trump benefited from the pandemic because he could legally close the border for public health reasons. That was one major reason there was less migration to the U.S. during his presidency. If V-P Harris tried the same thing, the courts would not agree. The pandemic is over.
The other thing is, the President does not determine what the U.S. policy is on immigration. That is a role for Congress. The GOP had their shot this Spring to vote for a bipartisan bill that they had full input in, and they decided not to vote for a coherent policy. They decided to keep things in chaos so they could blame Harris for it as they are now. In my book, that forfeits their right to complain.
IS BIDEN FIT TO BE PRESIDENT IF HE IS NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION”
The response to this was disappointing as well. The Republicans wanted Harris to “snitch” on Biden, maybe saying he would doze off in a meeting (like Trump dozed off in court this past spring.) They still do. This is why Trump had White House employees sign nondosclosure agreements as a condition of their appointment. So he could avoid transparency. And we all know and heard the gaffes Biden would say in public “God save the Queen.” Her response should have been “I think President Biden is doing a great job as POTUS, history will judge him kindly, and I think that he could run a competent campaign for re-election as well, but why must he do both? What does he have to prove? Why can he not focus on the issues facing the country and, after decades of public service, enjoy his weekends off? Everybody retires at some point.”
POLICY IN GENERAL
It takes a good year or two before the primary season begins for someone to put together a campaign, decide on policy positions, choose a V-P and so on. It was only forty days ago when it first seemed like V-P Harris might be the next President. During that time and in addition to the labor-intensive tasks already mentioned, she had to get enough delegates (of the several thousands) to support her, get the major fundraisers to resume their campaign contributions, plan and approve the details of the party convention and also accomplish the responsibilities of her office as V-P (such as meet with the Prime Minister of Israel.) No one can check all those boxes in barely a month. So, she should point out that she doesn’t have a policy on every possible issue, and that the public must consider her character and her abilities, that fact she she pledged to be the President of all Americans, not just to her base (and I’ve never heard of Trump promising this to the Democrats.). I would trust her to develop a new policy on something much more than I would trust Trump.
TIM WALZ
I was very disappointed here. I think Walz would make a good V-P. I think the strongest quality that he has is his candor and gregarious nature. He comes across as a decent human being. When asked by Bash to explain why he said he carried a gun in war, he did not as his campaign already admitted two weeks ago repeat that it was a mistake. Instead, for the first time since being appointed as the V-P candidate, he sounded like a politician who wanted to avoid any responsibility for what he said. “Tim, Just say ‘I screwed up.’ It was a long day. I don’t know what I was thinking.'” Don’t evade the question. We all saw the video.” You are human. We want you, not a political hack version of you who says one thing and then denies he said it.
And what’s up with that DUI and reckless driving issue? If you don’t explain it when you have the chance, then I’ll have to get my “facts” on it from Fox. Because I will look it up, especially since you avoid answering it. When a politician does that, it usually means they have something to hide. Please reassure me that you are not a politician.
As far as the in vitro issue, you might conclude that first of all, you have no obligation to explain to the Republicans about personal reproductive issues between you and your wife. Who would dare approach Melania Trump about such intimate issues!? Plus, some people confuse in vitro fertilization with artificial insemination. Getting technical about what it is and how it’s done is not worth trying to explain. It confuses people ever more. Just say what most Republican would say “Please respect my privacy” (as if they even support privacy in America!)
DANA BASH
I think Dana Bash did a good job. I’d give her an “A.” When a candidate was elusive about a question, she came back to it. I wish Jake Tapper would do the same more often when he interviews people.
So, while neither candidate will ever see this, I hope these comments are mentioned by people preparing for the first debate.