A Winning VP Pick for Biden

As Biden is about to announce his choice for a VP pick who is likely to be a Black woman, doubts will be raised if she is the best qualified, no matter who the pick is, to discredit both Biden and his choice.

What does it mean to be best qualified anyway? Here is a bit from the relatively recent Presidential history. Republican President George H. W. Bush picked Senator Dan Quayle for his VP. Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton picked Senator Tim Caine as her running mate. What makes these two — both white men — best qualified? Bush picked one to bolster his conservative credentials and Clinton picked one to help her win men and Virginia.

Biden has many qualified candidates for his Vice-President pick. Among them are many qualified Black women. The best qualified is one who would help him win the Presidency.

Senator Kamala Harris, with her background as a prosecutor in California, might help heal the country torn asunder by police actions and protests. She has run a Presidential campaign and has been in the national spotlight long enough not to cause unwanted surprises. She is certainly qualified.

Obama’s national security advisor Dr. Susan Rice has extensive foreign policy expertise and has worked alongside Biden in the Obama administration. Her qualifications are undeniable.

My pick is the likable, yet forceful Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. You can learn more about her here and here. Bottoms has served in legislative, judicial, and executive branches of Atlanta for over a decade. She has worked with politicians on both sides of the aisle. Her solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests and her stand in the face of an escalating virus in Atlanta, even as she and her family battled the virus, show what kind of leader she can be. Just listen to her talk. A big city mayor, she can energize the voters in cities like Detroit and Philadelphia. Just in this election, we have seen three mayors, all white men, run for President. Is Bottoms qualified? Of course.

Biden’s VP pick matters only if the election is close. In a close race, turn out in the battleground states is critical. Based on what we learnt from 2016, here are three key constituencies: White women, Black Americans, and young voters. Who would best help Biden win over these voters?

A bit about me.

Excited that the NBA has restarted and put Black Lives Matter front and center. Even more excited about what the WNBA women are doing!