ARTICLE AD BOX
Kamala Harris is being attacked at a "DEI" vice president who, if elected, would be a "DEI" president. The usually wrongheaded Matt Bai recognizes that this is an unfair attack:
It’s true that Joe Biden had committed to choosing a woman as his running mate by the time the death of George Floyd threw the country into turmoil in the summer of 2020. It’s also true that he then came under enormous pressure to choose a Black candidate, as well, which is why his final list included multiple Black women.
... Absent her identity, it’s hard to imagine she would have been anywhere near Biden’s top choice.
But you know what? You could say the same for almost every vice-presidential pick in recent memory. Would JD Vance be on Donald Trump’s ticket if he weren’t a rural White guy from Ohio? Was Sarah Palin chosen for her vast policy experience? Would Barack Obama have chosen Biden if he hadn’t felt he needed a validator for White working-class voters?