Joe Biden’s identity politics partner

Seldom before in the US has the selection of a vice-presidential running mate been more consequential than Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s historic choice of senator Kamala Harris. Mr Biden is 77. If he wins against Donald Trump in November he will be 78 when he is inaugurated next January, the oldest person to be sworn in as president for the first time. Concerns surround Mr Biden’s acuity. Mr Trump, 74, trolls him as “Sleepy Joe”, suggesting his mental capacity disqualifies him from the presidency.

With the RealClearPolitics poll average continuing to give Mr Biden a lead of more than 7 per cent, there is no sign Mr Trump’s denigration is working. But the lead does underline the importance of Senator Harris. She would be no more than the proverbial heartbeat away from becoming leader of the free world if anything happened to Mr Biden.

Her nomination demands the closest possible scrutiny. The choice of Senator Harris, the first woman of colour nominated for the vice-presidency, is groundbreaking. The politically progressive but pragmatic 55-year-old daughter of an immigrant, Jamaican-born Stanford economist and an Indian-born breast cancer researcher mother, she identifies strongly as an African-American. She ticks most of Mr Biden’s boxes for a running mate at a time of Black Lives Matter activism.

Her net impact on the Democrats’ prospects remains to be seen. Mr Biden was already assured of much of the black vote. He was certain to win Senator Harris’s home state of California. But there seems little doubt the symbolism of nominating a woman of colour with a real prospect of becoming president could, as Cameron Stewart reported, “hurt Mr Trump”.

Better than other candidates Mr Biden was considering, Senator Harris has significant political, administrative and legislative experience. In the New York Post, respected analyst John Podhoretz, a strong Trump supporter, noted “there would be a strong case to make for (Harris’s) candidacy outside of her identity … she’s one of the most successful politicians of her age in the Democratic Party”.

Surprisingly, that appears to be a view Mr Trump shares. Two weeks ago he said Senator Harris would be his “No 1 pick” for vice-president. Although she presents as a progressive, as California’s attorney-general she gained a solid reputation for being a “top cop” tough on law and order. That may agitate some liberal Democrats on the “lunatic” Bernie Sanders fringe. But it will do Mr Biden no harm at a time when Mr Trump wants lawlessness and violence on America’s streets to be a major issue in the contest.

There remains a long way to go in what looks like being the most bizarre election race in US history, with the Democrats set for a “virtual” nominating convention that may enable party handlers to keep Mr Biden away from close-up media scrutiny of any potential slip-ups. The pandemic also denies Mr Trump the political charge he draws from live rallies.

But Mr Biden must not be allowed to go on hiding in his Delaware basement. The Democrats should come out into the open. With so much at stake for the US and the rest of the world, Mr Biden and Senator Harris must spell out precisely why they would be a better choice than another four years of Trump and his deputy, Mike Pence.