Editorial: A lotus bloom in the US

Even as there is a groundswell of support for the first black woman running mate in US history, Harris has already become a prime target for the Republican party. President Donald Trump, never known to mince words, has described her as “nastier than Pocahontas” (a reference to Elizabeth Warren), and some fellow Republicans and a section of the right-wing media have portrayed her as a hardline left-winger. Ironically, it is the left-wing section of the Democratic party that has reacted somewhat anxiously, given her record on some issues including law enforcement.

Harris, as the American public knows, is not just another running mate. Given Joe Biden’s advancing years and slowing responses – which has led to widespread talk about his so-called cognitive decline – a Democratic victory means that Harris is the President-In-Waiting. Biden has referred to himself as a “transition candidate”, an expression that could mean much more than the fact that he will not contest a second term. If he is going to be a bridge to a younger generation of leaders (with Harris now on top of this pack), could the crossing happen even sooner?

Having decided he would opt for a black woman as a running mate – one that was made in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement – Biden’s choices were limited. Harris was a natural front-runner given her credentials – a former Attorney General in America’s most populous State, an excellent academic record, and perhaps more importantly, articulate and extremely telegenic. Given Biden’s somewhat dull and ponderous manner, Harris is a perfect foil. She may lend that touch of flamboyance and colour to a campaign that has been missing a spark, given Biden’s reluctance to leave his Delaware residence because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is too early to predict how the Harris choice will affect the presidential election, but recent polls suggest that Trump has managed to narrow the gap a little between himself and Biden. The next round of polls, insofar as we assume that such surveys are reasonably accurate, could reveal the true impact of the Harris effect. In India, the Harris candidature has evoked considerable interest, which is understandable given her maternal ancestry and her propensity to stress her Indian background. Although this gives her the advantage of understanding Indian culture and what makes the country tick, it remains to be seen how a Biden presidency warms to a New Delhi that went out on a limb to offer Trump a Namaste. She has also been known to speak out on human rights issues and has had her say on Kashmir. But then she has done much the same in other parts of the world, notably in Xinjiang, where she has described China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority as “abysmal”. A Biden victory will mark Kamala Harris as the woman to watch in many parts of the world. There is an acute awareness that her candidature could be a stepping stone to even bigger things.