I have hardly ever reposted a post. But this one I could not resist. I foretold the perilousness of Vice President Kamala Harris’s perch last March.
What I did not, however, foretell was how quickly she would become marginalized. A figure so deep into the wilderness we have no idea where during the last half year Harris has been, or what during the last half year Harris has done. This could of course change in a heartbeat. Joe Biden’s heartbeat – either literally or figuratively. Still, what became of her during the first year of Biden’s presidency is instructive.
- Instructive of how quickly even a prominent leader can be erased from the political scene.
- Instructive of how easy it is for the American president to reduce the role of the American vice president.
- Instructive of how women are still prone to being pushed – to a glass cliff and, or, far, very far, off center stage.
When Joe Biden first became president of the United States, he made certain to have his vice president immediately next to him, or just behind him nearly every time he appeared in public. Almost always Harris was right there, a visible symbol of her importance to his administration.
But, now no more. Now she’s gone. Receded so far into the background it’s hard to know she’s even there. It’s hard to know Vice President Kamala Harris even matters.