Opinion | What Harris Must Do to Win Over Skeptics (Like Me) - The New York Times
By: Bret Stephens (nytimes)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Bret Stephens
Opinion Columnist
What does Kamala Harris think the United States should do about the Houthis, whose assaults on commercial shipping threaten global trade, and whose attacks on Israel risk a much wider Mideast war? If an interviewer were to ask the vice president about them, would she be able to give a coherent and compelling answer?
It's not an unfair or unprecedented question. As a presidential candidate, George W. Bush was quizzed on the names of the leaders of Taiwan, India, Pakistan and Chechnya. He got one right (Taiwan's Lee Teng-hui) but drew blanks on the rest. It fueled criticism, as The Times's Frank Bruni reported in 1999, that "he is not knowledgeable enough about foreign policy to lead the nation."
A few more questions for Harris: If, as president, she had intelligence that Iran was on the cusp of assembling a nuclear weapon, would she use force to stop it? Are there limits to American support for Ukraine, and what are they? Would she push for the creation of a Palestinian state if Hamas remained a potent political force within it? Are there any regulations she'd like to get rid of in her initiative to build three million new homes in the next four years? What role, if any, does she see for nuclear power in her energy and climate plans? If there were another pandemic similar to Covid-19, what might her administration do differently?
It may be that Harris has thoughtful answers to these sorts of questions. If so, she isn't letting on. She did well in the debate with Donald Trump, showing poise and intelligence against a buffoonish opponent. But her answers in two sit-down interviews, first with CNN's Dana Bash and then with Brian Taff of 6ABC in Philadelphia, were lighter than air. Asked what she'd do to bring down prices, she talked at length about growing up middle-class among people who were proud of their lawns before pivoting to vague plans to support small business and create more housing.
Lovely. Now how about interest-rate policy, federal spending and the resilience of our supply chains?
All this helps explain my unease with the thought of voting for Harris — an unease I never felt, despite policy differences, when Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were on the ballot against Trump. If Harris can answer the sorts of questions I posed above, she should be quick to do so, if only to dispel a widespread perception of unseriousness. If she can't, then what was she doing over nearly eight years as a senator and vice president?
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Bret Stephens is a both-sideser from way back.
He has a list of "policy" questions that he demands Harris must nail down before he can vote for her.
It doesnt appear he thinks Trump should have to answer the same questions, not to mention the questions about what he was doing on the afternoon of Jan 6, or what he was doing when he approved of the plan in The Eastman memo.
Bret Stephens doesnt care who wins the election, he cares about how he can look smarter than his readers.
If Harris wins he will have one avenue for his columns, and if trump wins he will have another avenue for his columns. He will be spewing his both sides bullshit either way.
There are a few of you here like that - anyone who questions Harris is a magaholic. I've seen Trump in office and like it or not all I can compare to that is Harris' word and past deeds. It seems that if I don't embrace that flimsy shadow, I'm in favor of the fall of democracy. It has never occurred to yous that I can hang on to Trump as a counterweight to Harris' left field fantasies. If she wins, let it be by one vote that won't look like any sort of mandate for anything. That shit of condemning everybody who doesn't praise the queen is just going to get more of Trump's faithful to dig in their heels. And that's already happened once.
Can you name any other president in American history as unfit for office as Donald Trump is?
I'll speak for you and say you cant.
Fitness for office is a baseline, not a luxury.
Every week now we hear from this or that group of former Republicans, or even current Republicans who say they cannot vote for trump. There was recently a group of Reagan administration aides have come out for Harris. Many of the people who worked in high positions for Trump have come out against him , major people like Defense Sec. and Sec. of State. They arent doing this because they like Kamala Harris, but because they know that Trump is not mentally, ethically, morally or psychologically fit to be president of the United States.
Bill Clinton, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, Joe Biden.
Delusional.
"It may be that Harris has thoughtful answers to these sorts of questions. If so, she isn't letting on."
"If Harris can answer the sorts of questions I posed above, she should be quick to do so, if only to dispel a widespread perception of unseriousness. If she can't, then what was she doing over nearly eight years as a senator and vice president?"
They went after Bush, then they outdid themselves by trying to destroy Sarah Palin. It got down and dirty. Remember?
And it seems like the left is pretty much happy with this empty-headed unserious Biden substitute! Even Tulsi Gabbard would have been a better choice. She left the democrat party of good reasons....it has become too extreme and progressive.
The problem is, it's doubtful there are enough fanatical "never Trump at any cost" voters out there to get her elected.
Some New York Times readers responded
To the Editor:
VP Harris needs to get some advisers who know how to craft good policy on foreign relations, the economy, etc. And then she can sit down and answer those questions.
But you're right, why doesn't trmp have to answer those same questions?
For your edification. One example.
so what does he mean by that?
i'm sure the energy refers to gas prices and drill baby drill.
You're sure. How? Was that the 'epic' answer you were referring to?
How does he think he can single handedly bring down gas prices?
Biden, pretty much single handedly, caused them to go up drastically.
A fundamental misunderstanding of the global factors that predominantly drive fuel prices.
Yeah, imagine thinking a politician should earn your vote. Shocking stuff.
Fortunately Trump is not a politician ... thinking is unnecessary. /S
It should be when the alternative is a normal politician who is intelligent, organized, youthful, presidential, and will work for the American people rather than abuse the power of the presidency to satisfy their own vindictive whims.
But that's a really good start! And when I look at the options, I don't see any other viable candidate that's not Trump other than Harris. The rest of this is an exercise in futility since Trump can't cogently answer or express why he's the better choice on ANY of these other questions and we've already seen his response to Covid which was to downplay it and dismiss basic safety precautions like masks and vaccines which likely led to tens of thousands of dead Americans who followed his advice.
So, when the choice is between a basic day-old refrigerated gas station cheese sandwich on wheat bread versus a moldy fly covered shit and raw pork sandwich left out for a week on top of a garbage can in a gas station bathroom, I'm going with the cheese sandwich even if it's not exactly what I'd want if I had better choices.
I dig that analogy
Just a couple weeks ago Trump was posting things on his social media such as that Liz Cheney should have to face a military tribunal. Her crime being what? She stood firm against his Big Lie.
We are WAY past the need to compare other candidates to Trump, we have to have the majority affirm his utter unfitness for office.
Liz Cheney is a civilian. They don't hold military tribunals for American civilians
I guess Trump got some bad information.
He's a fucking idiot and doesn't know Jack Shit
Not right now, but by the way Trump worships Putin, if he were to win the election, I wouldn't put it past him trying to change that. He did say he wants to be a Dictator on day one.
That would definitely be shitting on the constitution. He is no patriot