flip-flopped grievously on healthcare policy. Her debate performances were shrill and spotty. She was exposed as frivolous and politically plas- tic, so the money dried up and the press lost interest. She was not going to fill


Obama’s shoes. Instead, she was seen as an empty suit. Harris dropped out in De-


cember 2019, and in March endorsed Biden, putting her- self conspicuously forward for consideration as his run- ning mate. Despite her failures as


a presidential candidate, she was, by many metrics, a strong vice presidential pick. As a young, Black woman, she served as a counterbal- ance to Biden’s hoary fra- gility. The optics were good for the ticket, the party, and history, and she checked too many boxes for Biden to com- fortably look elsewhere. On paper, Harris made


sense. But in three dimen- sions, she was a disaster. Her presidential run had


revealed her shortcomings as a thinker and a leader. Voters and Democrats didn’t trust her to be president, not yet, not now, and concerns over Biden’s health and longevity rendered this particular veep choice absolutely critical. Harris’ deficiencies were


so severe that a group of Democrats from her home state of California mobilized to warn Biden’s vice presi- dential search committee not to pick her. But amid echoes of his


own selection on the 2008 ticket, Biden ignored the advice and tapped Harris. Where Biden was old, Har-


70 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2024


ris was young. Where Biden was white, Harris was Black. Where Biden was male, Har- ris was female. There was no other choice.


Uncertain Future


formed by the alchemy of the White House, nor did either rise to the challenge of their new jobs. On the contrary, Biden’s mental and physi- cal health worsened, and his senior moments inspired more viral videos than did his policy measures and legisla- tive victories. Opponents, already dis-


U


mayed by his administrative agenda, clocked his vaca- tion days and downtime, his avoidance of press confer- ences and interviews, his stiff posture and empty stare, and attempted to diagnose his ail- ments from afar. Many observers, even some


Democrats who were rooting for a second Biden term, pri- vately wondered: Who, exact- ly, was running the country? Harris leaned into her worst


instincts, managing her office with vainglory and melodra- ma. She became better known for her braying laugh and mal- aprops than for her legislative contributions, like a real-life version of Selina Meyer, the vice president played by Ju- lia Louis-Dreyfus in the HBO comedy series Veep. She approached her most


high-profile assignments with low-energy ennui, and her discouraged staffers leaked like sieves. In truth, the responsibili- ties in the West Wing are so


nfortunately for the country, neither Biden nor Harris was trans-


vast, so vital, that no one truly can be prepared for the role. Every decision bears weight. There is no rest from the oppressive consequence and global pageant of the po- sition.


Each president and vice


president on Inauguration Day carries with them a ques- tion: How will they perform when the world is watching? For Biden and Harris, that question was answered long before they were sworn into office. As accidental leaders,


Biden and Harris were pulled forward by their intertwined fate. But after the extent of Biden’s mental decline was revealed with shocking and unequivocal clarity at the debate in Atlanta, their des- tinies have begun to disen- tangle. With the Democratic Par-


ty’s convention in Chicago looming, the plans have been scrapped, the scripts rewrit- ten.


No longer can Biden and


Harris calm the party fac- tions or command a friendly stage. There can be no more believable promises for four more years. Instead, the nation is left


with the threat of chaos and unanswered questions. We know how this hap-


pened, and why. For Biden and Harris, the path to the White House was accidental, but the choices that carried them there were calculated. We can guess how history


will judge those who brought us to this moment. What remains unknown:


What lessons have been learned?


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