Joe Bidens „Running Mate“

Die Welt schaut gebannt auf die anstehende US Präsidentschaftswahl im November. Sicherlich hat Präsident Trump viele, wenn auch schwindende, Unterstützer, aber der Großteil der globalisierten und vernetzten internationalen Gemeinschaft hofft wohl auf einen anderen, neuen Präsidenten. Im Laufe der Wahlkampfzeit hat sich Joe Biden als Spitzenkandidat der Demokraten durchgesetzt. Biden ist „Politik-Veteran“ und mit seinen 78 Jahren zwar sehr erfahren, einige zweifeln aber an seiner Nähe zu brennenden aktuellen US-amerikanischen Themen wie zum Beispiel: soziale Ungleichheit, Einkommensunterschiede und der Black Lives Matter-Bewegung. Mit der Wahl seines Running mate hat Biden eine strategisch ausgezeichnete Entscheidung getroffen: Kamala Harris. Eine Senatorin aus Kalifornien mit indischen und jamaikanischen Wurzeln. WEC Präsidiumsmitglied William H. Shawn, amerikanischer Anwalt, hat seine Einschätzung zu dieser Wahl und den Chancen des Biden-Harris Tickets abgegeben. Das World Economic Council ist der Dachverband des Internationalen Wirtschaftssenat e.V.

PRESUMPTIVE U.S. DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE JOE BIDEN’S SELECTION OF SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS AS VICE PRESIDENTIAL RUNNING MATE REPRESENTS A TECTONIC SHIFT IN AMERICAN POLITICS

By choosing California Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice-Presidential running mate, Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden launched the most significant generational, racial, and gender shift in American politics since the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960. Although the electoral campaign ahead presents many unprecedented social and economic challenges and an uncertain result potentially subject to challenge in any Donald Trump defeat, Joe Biden’s choice has electrified an otherwise quiet campaign confined by COVID-19 restraints and a pandemic-induced recession.

Following a grueling primary battle against formidable left wing opponents, and in a charged economic and social environment with Black Lives Matter and demands for racial and income equality, at 78 years old with over 40 years of conventional political experience, Joe Biden seemed anachronistic in modern progressive politics. He had promised to pick a female running mate in a field of many qualified women candidates, but the reality of Kamala Harris as his choice underscores the transition in American politics whether or not the Biden-Harris ticket wins in November.

With a Jamaican-born economist father and an Indian-born Brahmin scientist mother, both of whom held PhD’s, Kamala Harris is a first-generation American woman of color and accomplishment. Such heritage defies stereotypical notions of an American minority experience, however, just as Ex-President Barak Obama offered a unique international and multi-racial perspective. Regardless of ethnicity, Kamala Harris presents a charismatic and determined persona who, despite an unsuccessful and surprisingly lackluster presidential nomination campaign (lost amidst candidates’ rush leftward) has a well-earned reputation as a tough campaigner who wins. Her prosecutorial experience in California was, to many Black Lives Matter and other activists, a liability during the Democratic primary campaign. In a general election such experience may by an asset by attracting swing voters who fear social unrest and are a key to a successful Donald Trump reelection strategy.

Unlike many past, forgettable vice-presidential nominees, Kamala Harris could be a president-in-waiting. Joe Biden would be the oldest president ever elected and would likely only serve one term. If elected this November, therefore, Kamala Harris would enjoy the significant advantages of incumbency in running for president in 2024, especially against any marginalized post-Trump Republican party.

The Biden-Harris ticket must first win in November before Kamala Harris fulfills her potential role in history. The past four years have shown President Donald Trump to be a tough street fighter with a motivated and loyal voter base. As a veteran prosecutor, skilled debater, and adept interrogator in Senate hearings, however, Kamala Harris could easily be the Donald Trump antidote and fill the traditional “attack dog” role many Vice-Presidential candidates have been assigned by their presidential running mates.

If victorious, the Biden-Harris ticket should have important domestic and international consequences. Joe Biden’s past chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should spur better relations with U.S. allies and a coherent policy against U.S. adversaries. Although she will inevitably move to a more centrist position in the general election campaign, Kamala Harris has advocated higher taxes and effective redistribution of American wealth with an emphasis on racial justice and civil rights. Such orientation may make her a natural steward of U.S. domestic policy in any Biden-Harris administration tackling continued social unrest, record deficits, and a challenged economy.

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