kamala harris will be the black sarah palin - picked to rev up a portion of the base that required little incentive to vote, and in truth representing them only transparently. a more representative pick would express more consistent conservative values.

she will simultaneously repel those she was not picked to woo, and fail to increase turnout amongst those she's been targeted towards. we already saw her fail to generate interest in her own constituency during the primaries. let us recall that she dropped out because she had no path to victory, in no small part due to disinterest towards her from black voters.

i will say this, though: the kamala harris that you get on one day is a different kamala harris than you get on another. there's some possibility she may be handed a golden script and hold to it, but i think that possibility is remote.

she was the most toxic candidate possible, and perhaps the only certain way that he'd lose.

ironically, this shifts my calculation in the other direction. as i believe that harris will sink the ticket rather badly, i'm left looking downballot and not wanting to endorse the greens too heavily. for, remember - my choice is between supporting the democrats, or passively supporting their opponents by advocating for a third party.

i would expect the polls to tighten up, and in the places biden had to swing to win.