Speculation rampant on who will Biden pick as his vice president; are Kamala Harris' chances dimming?

WIKICOMMONS

Speculation on who will be Joe Biden's side is running rampant.

A couple of weeks ago, it looked like Sen. Kamala Harris was the top choice to be former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate and everyone was waiting for the announcement in the first week of August to make it official.

The self-announced deadline has passed and now his campaign said Biden's choice will be announced the second week of August. Biden's pick might even be revealed on the Sunday talk shows although, at this moment, Biden is not scheduled to be a guest on any of the news shows but be reassured, if he wants air time, he'll get it.

The longer Biden waits, Harris' chances dim as the anti-Harris bandwagon gains steam. Friday, USA Today published an article explaining why Biden shouldn't pick Harris because of both of their questionable actions in criminal justice. 

At the same time, a recent poll sponsored by Fair Vote shows that Harris is Democratic voters' top choice for Biden's running mate. Harris, who graduated from Howard Universitiy, a historically black school, is better known among the Democrats' most loyal  and reliable constituency -- Black women. 

Biden's decision-making is a deliberative process, taking advice from close advisors, trusted allies and his wife, Jill Biden. Who knows, he's probably had conversations with his dog Major.

As soon as it became obvious that Harris was among the finalists, a campaign was launched by some of Biden's advisors against the California senator. At question is Harris' loyalty. Looking at himself as an example, Biden wants a vice president that would be to him as he was for President Obama, a loyal and trusted confidante.

There are some close advisors within the Democratic Party who still resent Harris' attack against Biden in the first Democratic primary debate. Harris surprised the vice president with a stinging attack against his deal-making with Southern segregationists over busing students. Harris line about a little girl who was bussed every day to school: "That little girl was me," was the line of the debate, showed Biden's vulnerability and gave Harris a temporary boost in the polls.

When asked about the debate attack, Harris' answer was: “She laughed and said, ‘That’s politics.’ She had no remorse,” a source attributed to former Senator Chris Dodd, who is helping vet the veep contenders, 

According to the same source, “Dodd felt it was a gimmick, that it was cheap.” That's when the option for Karen Bass, aother Black Californian, began to rise.

Since then, however, Biden has stressed that he holds no grudges. He values Harris' friendship with his late son, Beau, and the Indian American senator has proved herself as a more than able fundraiser for the Biden campaign and other Democratic candidates.

But if Harris was such an "obvious" choice, why hasn't Biden made the announcement?

The delay in making the announcement is giving him time to take a second and third look at other contenders for the job: Obama foreign policy advisor Susan Rice, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmir, and fallbacks Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and California Rep. Karen Bass. There are some who say that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is still in the running.

There is tremendous pressure and strong arguments for all of the aforementioned women: All of those  women are capable but they are not without their drawbacks. It is the weighing of the drawbacks vs. the advantages for each of the candidates that is slowing Biden's decision.

Susan Rice, Obama's foreign policy advisor, last week reportedly sold all her Netflix stock, which fueled speculation that she is preparing to be named Biden's choice. However, among Black women where Harris has strong allies, Rice is an unknown entity. Beyond foreign relations, Rice has not articulated her positions on domestic issues and has never campaigned on a national stage.

While it may be frustrating for those who are watching Biden's every move and want to begin the real campaign against Donald Trump, another reason for the delay may be to ensure the greatest excitement for the Democratic Convention, which will be online for health and safety concerns over the coronavirus.

By holding off in announcing his choice, Biden could make a bigger news splash not only for himself but for all Democratic candidates downline from the commander-in-chief as anticipation grows for the virtual Democratic unconventional convention, which is scheduled two weeks from now.

Meanwhile, the media and political pundits --alway pressing for a decision by Biden -- will just have to wait until Biden is good and ready.