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Let’s imagine that I just awoke from a six-month coma. I would not be able to believe my eyes and ears as I caught up on the latest presidential campaign news. Vice President Kamala Harris was anointed the Democratic candidate! (Apparently, the democratic primary process — like stop signs — is just a suggestion.)
But that’s not all. She’s suddenly being lionized in the media. Time magazine put her on its cover, portraying her with a reverence normally reserved for demigods like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. along with the caption, “Her moment.” People are referring to her as a pop culture phenomenon and making liberal use of the word “vibes” to describe her and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their emotional hold on the country. (Yes, that Tim Walz!)
(Insert “Twilight Zone” musical theme here.) Wait a minute. Are we sure we’re talking about the same Kamala Harris? The one who just months ago was considered a party pariah, who party bosses publicly said must go because she’s unelectable? The 2020 presidential candidate who couldn’t even make it to Iowa, let alone beyond it? The linguistically challenged, word-salad-spewing, “border czar” flunkie? She is now the greatest hope for the Democrat party since Mr. Hope himself, Barack Obama?
This has to be one of those alternate universe moments you see in sci-fi movies. Or maybe I’m still in a coma and this is all a dream. Or maybe, just maybe, voters are that fickle and easily played by the media. Talk about “weird.”
Doug deGrood, Edina
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