Joe Biden Picked Kamala Harris Despite Advice Not To: Reason #35 to Love Joe Biden

by GoodNewsRoundup

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Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020 Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020 at 4:04:03am PDT

Joe Biden picked a strong, amazing, take-no-prisoners woman of color to be his vice president. And he did it despite being advised to *not* pick Harris.

That he picked Harris anyway speaks volumes about Biden. For one, it shows that he isn’t intimidated by strong women.

There was some talk during the primary that some of Biden’s support from the African American community came from the fact that he not only was Obama’s VP, but that he stood behind Obama for 8 years and never tried to steal the spotlight (Gore), never had to show that he was really the one in charge (Cheney), and never just coasted through the job (Quayle). He did all he could to make Obama successful and that is something that you honestly can’t say of every VP and certainly can’t say that every white man would be truly comfortable doing.

And now, Biden has taken this a step further by boldly saying that the future of the America can be found in a woman of color who speaks her mind and isn’t scared of a fight.

Biden was pushed by some of his old, white advisors to avoid Harris because she was too ambitious and too outspoken. He was told not to pick her because she challenged him during the debate. But Biden isn’t intimidated by someone else’s ambition. He is strong and secure enough to not be afraid of criticism.

Picking a great candidate like Kamala Harris speaks volumes about Joe Biden’s character and his vision for America.

And Kamala is great:

‘She’s got major ovaries’ – why people like Kamala Harris

She’s tough, she’s empathetic, she’s for the people, she understands us. Kamala Harris has an x-factor hard to convey.

Harris’s call for genuine unity and action to deliver ‘a country with equal treatment, collective purpose and freedom for all’ sounds good. But America needs more than rhetoric: leadership with a steel spine and the stomach to ask tough questions about the country’s future. In Harris, the Democrats may have that – a candidate whose background could unite the party.

‘I am not perfect,’ Harris concluded. ‘But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. And I will speak the truth.’ Those are qualities that Americans feel their country needs, now more than ever. They simply want to believe in a leader who espouses them. Kamala Harris might just be that leader.

SHE MAY BE THE FIRST, BUT SHE DOESN’T WANT TO BE THE LAST.

Despite her hectic schedule, Harris has made a point to mentor young women. One mentee, Iyahna Smith, now a senior at Howard University, met Harris when she was a high school student in San Francisco. Smith told Essence, “I was part of College Track, a program that provides students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to go to school. I gave a speech, and during it I mentioned my desire to go to Howard. Afterward, Ms. Harris came up to me, told me it was her alma mater and said she wanted to help.” Harris assisted Smith with her college essays, connected her with internships, and sends her cards with notes of encouragement. “It's just incredible that someone who is so busy and has so much responsibility has been so involved,” Smith said.

For Harris, her commitment to helping others achieve their potential is a value she learned from her mother, who was committed to mentoring her graduate students, simultaneously supporting them and demanding their very best. Harris’s sister Maya said of their mother, “Until her dying day she never lost sight of this notion that if you’ve been able to walk through doors, you don’t just leave the doors open. You bring others along.” Both sisters were inspired by Shyamala’s example. Harris has repeatedly said that her motto is “A saying my mother had, ‘You may be the first, but make sure you're not the last.’”