{"id":2340554,"date":"2024-09-13T07:37:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T11:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harriss-pass-fail-candidacy-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-13T07:41:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T11:41:45","slug":"kamala-harriss-pass-fail-candidacy-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harriss-pass-fail-candidacy-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamala Harris\u2019s pass-fail candidacy &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkamala-harriss-pass-fail-candidacy-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2340554&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217;s candidacy in the wake of President \u2064Joe\u200c Biden&#8217;s decision to step aside for her nomination. It argues that her \u200bcampaign is \u2062lacking substance, likening it to a &#8220;Seinfeld&#8221; campaign about &#8220;nothing.&#8221; Although Harris claims\u200d to have a vision for her administration,\u200d her responses in interviews and debates have been vague, focusing\u200d on minor policy proposals rather than concrete plans. During a recent debate, she failed to provide clear answers on critical issues such as the economy and foreign policy, instead offering general statements. The author notes that while Harris has positioned herself as more eloquent than Biden, she still avoids depth in her\u200b responses, relying on rhetoric that lacks specificity. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cuomo-told-aide-he-would-try-to-mount-her-report-claims\/\" title=\"Cuomo Told Aide He Would Try To \u2018Mount\u2019 Her, Report Claims\">article concludes<\/a> that Harris&#8217;s strategy may be a calculated risk to distance herself from the unpopular status quo of the Biden administration while appealing to voters seeking direction.\u2062 However, critics, including former President \u2064Donald Trump, have pointed out her inaction on pressing \u2064issues during her time\u2062 in \u200coffice.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-sacff-txt\">Magazine &#8211; Feature <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Kamala Harris&rsquo;s pass-fail candidacy<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1758649\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>It has now been nearly two months since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic Party<\/a> forced President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> to forgo the nomination in favor of Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kamala Harris<\/a>. When that unprecedented event occurred, people were left asking, what kind of campaign will she run?<\/p>\n<p>The answer by this point is clear. Hers is a <em>Seinfeld<\/em> campaign, about essentially nothing. That came across in her one and only interview to date with CNN, at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-national-convention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic National Convention<\/a>, and most recently at the presidential debate.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Illustration by Jason Seiler for the Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To be sure, Harris claims she has a vision for her administration. But her rhetoric is so airy and effervescent that it might be better to call it a vision to have a vision. This was clear at the Sept. 10 debate in Philadelphia, on both foreign and domestic policy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Consider, for instance, the opening question from ABC News. David Muir asked Harris, &ldquo;When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?&rdquo; This is, arguably, the key question of the debate. Harris and her team must have known it was coming. And what was her answer? She spoke a lot of words, but at the end of the day, her answer boiled down to a $6,000 child tax credit and a $50,000 deduction for small businesses.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s it.<\/p>\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/foreign-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>foreign policy<\/a>, the question of the day remains the Israel-Hamas conflict. Moderator Linsey Davis noted how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Biden administration <\/a>has so far failed to resolve that conflict and asked what she would do differently. Again, Harris spoke quite a bit, but substantively, she said two things: &ldquo;continue to work around the clock on&rdquo; a ceasefire and pursue a two-state solution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So it went for the entire debate. Indeed, the only time Harris spoke with any specificity or clarity was on abortion. Here, she was unequivocal in her intent to enshrine <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> in federal legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, Harris spoke with much greater eloquence than Biden did back in July. Her answers were clearly well designed. And she did a good job at needling former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>, who felt obliged to rise to every provocation. It was especially interesting to see how she used this tactic to evade an answer on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>immigration<\/a>. When asked why the Biden administration waited so long to tighten border restrictions, Harris fell back on supporting the moribund Senate bill, then suddenly switched gears:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I&rsquo;ll tell you something, he&rsquo;s going to talk about immigration a lot tonight even when it&rsquo;s not the subject that is being raised. And I&rsquo;m going to actually do something really unusual and I&rsquo;m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump&rsquo;s rallies because it&rsquo;s a really interesting thing to watch. You will see during the course of his rallies he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about windmills cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump took the bait on this. It was a good tactical way to get around the sticky problem of immigration. But of course, unanswered was the underlying matter of: What do you intend to do about an issue that ranks high on the pubilc&rsquo;s list of priorities?<\/p>\n<p>The debate was thus a microcosm of the entire Harris campaign to date &mdash; to avoid substance. Of course, voters are not looking for detailed policy papers, written by policy wonks and certified by outside experts as being realistic. What matters is giving voters a sense of direction: where one candidate will take the country versus another. Harris has not done that, and by now, it is safe to say she has no intention of doing so.<\/p>\n<p>This is a gamble, for sure. But it might very well be a necessary one. Even though Harris is a new candidate, she is not a new figure. She is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-if-democrats-call-witnesses-at-trial-we-will-call-democrats-thatve-used-inflammatory-language\/\" title=\"Graham: If Democrats Call Witnesses At Trial We Will Call Democrats That\u2019ve Used Inflammatory Language\">sitting vice president<\/a> and the successor to Biden, who remains starkly unpopular among the broader electorate. She cannot endorse the status quo because voters do not like it. But at the same time, she has to stay vague because she and Biden are in office right now and could begin to enact whatever vision she has.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In his closing remarks, Trump hit this point:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So, she just started by saying she&rsquo;s going to do this, she&rsquo;s going to do that, she&rsquo;s going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn&rsquo;t she done it? She&rsquo;s been there for 3 1\/2 years. They&rsquo;ve had 3 1\/2 years to fix the border. They&rsquo;ve had 3 1\/2 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn&rsquo;t she done it? She should leave right now, go down to that beautiful White House, go to the Capitol, get everyone together, and do the things you want to do. But you haven&rsquo;t done it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s debate performance was uneven, for sure. But this line precisely illustrates the dilemma in which Harris finds herself: She cannot be the candidate of the status quo, yet she cannot be the candidate of change.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>She and her team have clearly set upon their solution &mdash; say a lot without saying much at all.<\/p>\n<p>The usual caveats apply. This strategy could work. The country is about evenly split, meaning a small shift of votes one way or another could make the difference. Trump, even though he is more popular now than ever, remains deeply divisive. Regardless, no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stacey-abrams-pauses-gubernatorial-campaign-to-raise-money-for-abortion-groups\/\" title=\"Stacey Abrams Pauses Gubernatorial Campaign to Raise Money for Abortion Groups\">major party nominee<\/a> in the modern history of the United States has ever pursued a strategy that, when asked about the major issues of the day, offers answers that boil down to &ldquo;pass.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Jay Cost is the Gerald R. Ford senior nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1758649\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1758649\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**Magazine &#8211; Feature: Kamala Harris\u2019s Candidacy of Ambiguity**<\/p>\n<p>It has been almost two months since the Democratic Party compelled President Joe Biden to step aside for Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee. This historic shift raised questions about the nature of her campaign. As it stands, her approach resembles a &#8220;Seinfeld&#8221; campaign\u2014focused on essentially nothing. This was evident in her sole interview with CNN during the Democratic National Convention and more recently at a presidential debate.<\/p>\n<p>Harris asserts that she has a vision for her administration, but her rhetoric is so vague that it might be more accurate to describe it as merely having an intention to have a vision. This became apparent during the September 10 debate in Philadelphia, particularly regarding both foreign and domestic issues.<\/p>\n<p>Take, for example, ABC News&#8217; opening question from David Muir: \u201cDo you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?\u201d This is arguably one of the most critical questions of the debate, and Harris&#8217;s response was largely filled with words but ultimately centered around a $6,000 child tax credit and a $50,000 deduction for small businesses\u2014nothing more.<\/p>\n<p>On foreign policy matters like the Israel-Hamas conflict\u2014a pressing issue\u2014Moderator Linsey Davis pointed out how the Biden administration has struggled to address it and asked what she would do differently. Again, while she spoke extensively, her substantive points were limited to committing to work tirelessly towards a ceasefire and advocating for a two-state solution.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the debate, Harris only displayed clarity when discussing abortion rights; she firmly stated her goal of codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law. While she articulated herself better than Biden did previously in July and effectively provoked former President Donald Trump into responses during their exchanges\u2014especially when sidestepping immigration questions\u2014the core issue remained unaddressed: What are your plans regarding immigration?<\/p>\n<p>When pressed about why there had been delays in tightening border restrictions under Biden&#8217;s administration, Harris pivoted back to supporting an outdated Senate bill before diverting attention by inviting viewers to attend one of Trump&#8217;s rallies\u2014a tactic designed to deflect from answering directly about immigration policies.<\/p>\n<p>This pattern exemplifies Harris&#8217;s overall campaign strategy thus far: avoiding substantive discussion on key issues. Voters aren&#8217;t necessarily seeking detailed policy documents; they want clarity on where candidates intend to lead them compared with their opponents. Unfortunately for voters looking for direction from Harris at this stage in her candidacy\u2014and given that she&#8217;s not new on the political scene as sitting vice president\u2014it appears unlikely she&#8217;ll provide any concrete plans moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Trump highlighted this dilemma succinctly during his closing remarks by questioning why she hasn&#8217;t acted on promises made over three-and-a-half years if she&#8217;s truly committed to change: \u201cWhy hasn\u2019t she done it? She should leave right now&#8230;and do what you want.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>While Trump&#8217;s performance had its ups and downs throughout debates leading up until now\u2014the point he made underscores Harris\u2019s predicament: She cannot represent both continuity with current policies nor can she fully embrace change without risking backlash against an unpopular status quo.<\/p>\n<p>Her team seems committed instead to delivering broad statements without substantial content\u2014a strategy that could potentially yield results given how evenly divided public opinion currently is; even slight shifts could sway outcomes significantly amidst ongoing divisions surrounding Trump\u2019s popularity despite his polarizing nature.<\/p>\n<p>However unprecedented this approach may be within modern U.S political history remains clear\u2014it raises concerns when major party nominees respond simply with &#8220;pass&#8221; when confronted about pressing national issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2690,"featured_media":2340555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Feat-HarrisPassFail.0918.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32431,18574,32438,5894,32076],"class_list":["post-2340554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2024-election","tag-candidacy","tag-kamala-harris","tag-politics","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Feat-HarrisPassFail.0918.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}