Effort to ‘wash Harris clean’ of Biden administration mistakes is tall order: Sarah Bedford – Washington Examiner

Heather HamiltonJuly 29, 2024

In an article by Sarah Bedford from the *Washington Examiner*, the challenges facing ‌Vice President Kamala Harris as Election⁣ Day approaches are discussed. ⁣Bedford emphasizes⁣ that Harris has limited time to convince voters of her capability to lead effectively. She highlights that Harris’s choice of a running mate will be crucial, particularly mentioning Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona as a candidate being considered, noting that his selection might prioritize winning Arizona over ⁢policy⁣ alignment.

Bedford critiques Harris’s ‍potential‌ decision-making, suggesting that aligning with a candidate tied ⁣to‌ the Biden administration’s ⁣perceived shortcomings, especially in foreign ‌policy and national security, may not be a wise choice. She argues that with‍ very little time left, Harris’s campaign ⁣will need to distance itself from the mistakes of the Biden administration, but achieving this will be difficult. ‌Bedford concludes that while elections may not hinge solely on foreign policy, the ⁣current administration’s handling of issues like the economy and immigration might leave voters ⁤questioning their competence.

Effort to ‘wash Harris clean’ of Biden administration mistakes is tall order: Sarah Bedford

The Washington Examiner’s Sarah Bedford said the time left until Election Day leaves Vice President Kamala Harris little time to reassure voters that she is “the steady hand that can fix everything.”

While appearing on Fox News’s The Evening Edit, Bedford noted the significance of Harris’s choice of a running mate in that effort. Bedford pointed out that Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who is being floated as a contender for the role, may be more about winning the state of Arizona and less about policy and balancing the ticket.

“I think that Kamala Harris, you know, she doesn’t have a lot of room for error with so little runway left in the election, so why she would choose someone who evokes some of the Biden administration’s worst moments and calls attention to the fact that the Biden administration is perceived as being so weak on national security, that foreign policy has become a mess on Biden and Harris’s watch, why she would choose a candidate who reinforces some of those worst narratives about the Biden administration doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense,” Bedford said.

“Not a lot about what the Democrats have been doing lately makes a lot of sense, unless you look at it through the lens of them just wanting to win elections,” she added. “Arizona is a key state. Mark Kelly is from the key state, and that seems to be some of the only calculations going into the VP search: who helps Kamala win, not necessarily who is the best governing partner.”

Bedford contended that the entirety of Harris’s campaign, including who she chooses to be her vice president, will have to battle “the mistakes of the Biden administration.”

“They’re going to do everything possible to wash Harris clean of the mistakes of the Biden administration, and it’s true that elections are not won and lost on foreign policy, but the mess that we’ve seen on the world stage on Biden and Harris’s watch, I think, underscores that deeper perception that the people in charge right now don’t know what they’re doing — on any front, on the economy, on the border, and on foreign policy,” Bedford said.

“I think on that front, Harris is going to have a hard time reassuring people that she is the steady hand that can fix everything,” she continued.

Until the Democratic National Convention in August, Harris is the party’s de facto presidential nominee since President Joe Biden announced he would not be seeking reelection.

In addition to Kelly, the list of potential running mates for Harris has included Govs. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Roy Cooper (D-NC), and Andy Beshear (D-KY). However, Cooper removed himself from consideration Monday.