The US presidential race was thrown open by President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside and endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic party’s candidate against Donald Trump. This brightens the ruling party’s odds of White House retention, but her being a woman—and “of colour” too—makes some folks wonder if her candidacy will do anything to stop Trump from cruising to victory.
Should Harris win the ticket on the logic of party unity, as is likely, she’ll need to scramble a rousing campaign, Obama-style. What she wants America to imagine—“What can be, unburdened by what has been”—hints of progress on self-evident liberal values, but she must make it explicit. She could pitch liberty as America’s great strength and attraction for immigrants, highlight the value of a multicultural society and explain how a buzzy free-market for diverse ideas acts as a fount of innovation.
Harris could also advocate US openness as an assurer of its global leadership in the face of China’s rise. An open US is sure to elicit greater global support. Drawbridges going up in line with geo-rivalry reflects a loss of confidence in what gave the world an “American Century.”