Earlier today I made the case that Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth would be Joe Biden's best three options to be his running mate.
As promised, here are the three women who I think would be least suited to be his running mate.
Kamala Harris - There are those who like Jennifer Rubin who believe former Senator Chris Dodd was being sexist when he took Kamala Harris to task for ambushing Biden on school busing and segregation during the first Democratic presidential debate in June 2019.
Considering that Harris subsequently indicated she favored local control of school busing, a position virtually identical to that of Biden, it was an entirely legitimate line of questioning. If Harris saw fit to laugh at Dodd and say, "That's politics," then fine. But if Biden is to pick Harris then you can be sure the Trump campaign will play clips of Harris accusing Biden of supporting segregation on a 24-hour loop and say, "That's politics." With friends like Harris who needs enemies? Certainly not Joe Biden. Not now.
There are those who think Biden should pick because she would roast Vice President Pence in a debate. Yet Harris' campaign went into free fall after Tulsi Gabbard got the better of her in the Democratic debate nearly a year ago today. As I argued at the time, Gabbard had been telegraphing her punches for weeks and yet Harris was completely unprepared for the onslaught. Her subsequent debate performances did not inspire confidence. Last October, when she asked a town hall audience in Nevada if they were ready for a Harris presidency they responded with a resounding no. Harris would drop out two months before the Iowa Caucus. Although she would endorse Biden on Super Tuesday, it does not appear she has learned any lessons from her failed presidential campaign and isn't ready to be Vice-President.
Susan Rice - I think this would be an even worse choice for Biden. Like it or not, Rice will forever be remembered for two things - Benghazi and Bowe Bergdahl. It was Rice, then Ambassador to the United Nations, who infamously went on the Sunday talk shows to claim the attack on the American diplomatic compound on September 11, 2012 was a spontaneous attack inspired by an anti-Islamic video rather than well planned terrorist attack. Less than two years later, it was Rice who declared that American deserter Bowe Bergdahl served with "honor and distinction."
There are a lot of Democrats who might roll their eyes here. But Benghazi resulted in the deaths of four Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the search for Bowe Bergdahl resulted in the deaths of five soldiers. It's going to be difficult for Rice to credibly demand answers about American soldiers killed by Taliban terrorists paid with Russian money with that track record.
Mind you, if Biden doesn't pick Rice to be his VP there is a good chance that he would select her as his Secretary of State. Whatever role she plays in a Biden Administration these questions are bound to come up. But better they come up after being elected President than during the uncertainty of an election campaign.
Elizabeth Warren - This would be the worst possible pick of all. At a time when pressure is being brought to bear upon Biden to pick a woman of color as his running mate I cannot think of optics worse than picking someone who dubiously claimed to be Native American. Her DNA test was DOA. And for all of the hype surrounding the Massachusetts Senator "having a plan for that" she proved to be utterly incoherent when it came to putting together a plan for Medicare for All. Let us also remember it took Warren nearly six weeks after she dropped out to endorse him and by the time she did it was the furthest thing from anyone's mind.
Of course, even though I believe these three women are likely to do more harm than good to Biden I realize he could very well choose one of them to be his running mate. If he does then I must admit it will give me pause. I would have some thinking to do. I can only hope it will not come to that. But I find life is seldom that easy.
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