Much as I had wished it myself in those first few days of her candidacy, it’s not Pete who will be by Kamala Harris’s side as a running mate and then when she is sworn in as POTUS. Here are my thoughts on the who and the what and the why, and they are filled with all sorts of politically-incorrectly-inappropriate observations galore.
It’s not Pete
He’s brilliant. He’s nerdy. He’s philosophical. He’s fresh. But he is too young. He just is. He’s not yet in mid-life, and mid-life is a thing. It’s not just an age. And Pete isn’t there yet.
He’s a father to some very young kids, and while being DOT lead is a load, being VP is just that much more. He needs to be a dad and husband, too, especially at this time in his life and especially with kids so young.
He’s gay and while many people have expanded their worlds and worldviews of late and become more gay-accepting, a lot of folks who might be polite in public but don’t quite “get the whole gay thing,” will not want a gay VP. Maybe if the POTUS-to-be was some Normal-enough-seeming White Guy. Maybe. But with the first female president of mixed-race and -ethnicity … it’s just too much. For some. For now.
He’s not stumping much for Harris, to my knowledge. He’s out talking about Pete’s thoughts about the world, as he does. And he has lovely thoughts, and a lovely mind, and he’s sort of a poet-philosopher kind of guy, but he’s not positioning himself to be VP; he’s positioning himself to be president.
He won’t be able to run in 2028, as that will be Harris’s second term, which she will win and he’d be a fool to run against her. By 2032, he’ll be better positioned to run for president in that he’ll have more of a track record (good or bad), and he’ll have more competition in the field, too; he wouldn’t be the only Millennial running.
2032 will also be “the time” when the country will begin to be ready for Millennial leadership at higher levels, as that is right around the time when the First Turning era-change will occur. All the generations will move up the age ladder around then.
Perhaps for another post, I don’t think Pete will ever be president, but I do think he will get (around 2032) some sort of Big New Role (that doesn’t even exist today) … something like Secretary of Global Healthy Families Initiative. Something more poet-philosopher-statesman-like.
However, right now the the nation needs and wants more experienced people in leadership, and that’s midlife GenX capacity. Pete is a Millennial and has a Millennial mindset. Kamala and all the others (save Cooper) are Xers.
It’s not Andy
I get such a beta vibe off of him. Meh.
It’s not JB
Pritzker (and Walz too) has to be one of the most not-GenX-y looking GenX guys around. It’s not him. He may be nice and fab and progressive and a good guy, but a billionaire (three and a half of ’em) with mega family-money who looks like he does, nah. Not the Democrats image. Not their narrative. Not now at least. Sorry to be so shallow.
It definitely wouldn’t have been Cooper
Even though he pulled his name from the hat, it wouldn’t have been Cooper. He’s the only Boomer on the list of considered folks, and Boomers don’t do well supporting and being subordinate to GenXers. It’s not in their nature.
Notice how Obama (a GenXer) picked Biden (a Silent Gen as VP); and notice how Biden picked Kamala (a GenXer). Boomers don’t do well playing second fiddle to Xers.
It ain’t Gretchen
Few swing voters would go for a double-header female team. Many Everyday Democrats wouldn’t prefer it either. IMO, Kamala is going to blow minds with how she handles war, international conflict, etc. but that’s her, and has yet to be seen and witnessed, but no, Not a double-female team.
It’s not Shapiro
With the Israel-Gaza stuff and Kamala already married to a Jewish man, it would be *too much* for some to have a Jewish VP and a POTUS married to a Jewish man. I don’t care one way or the other; I just think it would be too much Jewish-ness in the White House and could be alienating to many Muslim votes. And that’s both a growing and important sector of our nation.
It could be Kelly
A friend got me out of my “Pete, Pete … it must be Pete!” reverie, explaining that Kelly is a better choice. And I’ve been thinking for some time, it’ll be Kelly: astronaut, good husband, strong record on the border, not too polarizing, et cetera. He’s strong enough to play second fiddle to a woman and still be strong — not something all men can do, or do well.
It could be, probably is, Walz.
Plain, simple, little panache. Gets things done. He’s relatable. Dad-like. He looks older, but he’s an Xer. He has that Rust Belt, middle-America kind of appeal more so than any other candidate on the list. He’s basic and solid. Social studies teacher, football coach, dad with two kids, super-relatable for many. Military service. Raised on a farm. In a small town. That whole China thing, too.
I watched this video the other day and suddenly went from Kelly-Kelly-Kelly to “Oh, it’s going to be Walz.”
And … Mercury just went retrograde
Mercury went retrograde on August 5th. Agreements made during MR don’t tend to stay as initially agreed.
SOOOO … the POSSIBILITY that one candidate will be selected but it will end up being another one is there. Just sayin’.
