Kamala Harris for President

As of this date, 77.3 million Americans already voted in early voting. Many millions more are already in the mail.

To those who have not yet voted, I say: There is only one choice for president and that has to be VP Kamala Harris. I know the polls say the race is close, and several say that the former president will win the Electoral College. But, there are shifts in the latest data that lean toward the VP. The Selzer poll for the Des Moines Register considered a reliable poll in Iowa, shows Harris leading in Iowa, which is typically a red state. Their survey of the Iowa Congressional races, now with four seats held by Republicans, shows a significant shift in two districts toward the Democratic candidates.

Nate Cohn of the New York Times noted": The Times/Sienna poll shows a dead heat with Harris gaining along with late deciders in the Sun Belt while the Rust Belt tightens."

Nate Silver from the Silver Bullitin's aggregate of polls shows a 50-50 race. However, in the Swing States, he gives DJT the advantage in five of the seven states. Yet Harris may win the popular vote and lose the Electoral College if she doesn't pick up more swing state voters. He concludes by advising voters "to embrace uncertainty and to not be surprised if the breakdown of who wins each state doesn't neatly follow the current polling averages."

The Economist noted its polling data over the years has shown reluctant Trump voters and missed new and young voters. Silver cautioned against polls that herded or over-corrected, so maybe we shouldn't be hanging on every result, but it is difficult to not do so, especially if you, like me, are so convinced the differences between the two candidates are so stark.

I believe the votes from women might be the deciding factor. Some have noted that women voters over 65, who tend to vote Republican, this time may not be doing so. This might be because of the Dobbs' decision, as rights that these women fought for when they were young and thought were settled law, have now been overturned. On Saturday, thousands of women in cities across the country marched to show support for VP Harris.

Over these many months, I showed my readers why I thought DJT was incompetent, amoral, and probably losing cognitive relevance in his daily actions. Indeed, in just the past few days, he irresponsibly suggested Liz Cheney face a firing squad and someone could shoot up the media. I echoed many others as I described his fascist tendencies and his pride in his divisive remarks. Quite simply, he is unfit to ever sit again in the Oval Office, as Liz Cheney noted.

Here are some editorials from major media outlets in recent days:

The New York Times 11/2/24

"You already know Donald Trump. He is unfit to lead. Watch him. Listen to those who know him best. He tried to subvert an election and remains a threat to democracy. He helped overturn Roe, with terrible consequences. Mr. Trump's corruption and lawlessness go beyond elections: It's his whole ethos. He lies without limit. If he's re-elected, the G.O.P. won't restrain him. Mr. Trump will use the government to go after opponents. He will pursue a cruel policy of mass deportations. He will wreak havoc on the poor, the middle class, and employers. Another Trump term will damage the climate, shatter alliances, and strengthen autocrats. Americans should demand better. Vote."

American Business cannot afford another Trump Presidency NYTimes  Oct 16, 2024.

"Executives who convince themselves that they can shape Mr. Trump's decision-making should consider the record of everyone who has tried to ride the tiger in the eight years since he emerged as the leader of the Republican Party. Those expecting his instincts to be tempered by advisers, as sometimes happened during his first term, will be disappointed. His inner circle has been purged of people who say no. In a second Trump term, the secretary of state would not come from Exxon, and the secretary of the Treasury would not come from Goldman Sachs. The smart — and courageous — people have left the room. What remains are loyalists and ideologues and a decision-making process that begins and ends with the question of what is most expedient for Mr. Trump.

As president, he treated the wide-ranging powers of the federal government as instruments to reward friends and to punish enemies. According to a 2019 report by Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, Mr. Trump repeatedly pressured the Justice Department to block the merger of AT&T and Time Warner because he was mad at CNN, a Time Warner subsidiary at the time. Last month he threatened to prosecute Google because, he said, the company "has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump."

Los Angeles Magazine begins its endorsement of Kamala Harris with these words: (remarks in part)

"Los Angeles is a melting pot with diverse people and diverse perspectives. Los Angeles is a city of love and not hate. Donald Trump represents an existential threat to everything we love about Los Angeles. He spreads hate and division wherever he goes, as he did recently here during his visit to Pacific Palisades. On the other hand, Vice President Kamala Harris embodies the positivity, professionalism, law and order, and innovation, that we love about our city……

Finally, Donald Trump is clearly unhealthy and is presenting what could be serious dementia-like symptoms at his rallies. What this means: a vote for Trump is more likely a vote for JD Vance.

America and Los Angeles are so much better than that.

But while I could go on at length about Donald Trump's flaws, more ink needs to be spent on what the positive vision is to take America forward……

Vice President Kamala Harris doesn't get our endorsement simply because she is not Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris has earned our endorsement because she has showed she is the most qualified person in America to lead the pro-democracy coalition of Democrats, classic Republicans, and independents. VP Harris has made her candidacy about protecting the core freedoms of Americans. Freedoms like the rights of women to make their own reproductive health decisions. The rights Donald Trump ripped away by placing three Supreme Court Justices in a calculated effort to overturn Roe v. Wade…….

VP Harris promises to be a President for all Americans.
For us, this choice is simple. This choice is about real patriotism. This choice is about our future. The future of America. The future of Los Angeles. We endorse VP Kamala Harris for President of the United States."

The Economist endorsed Kamala Harris in a somewhat backhanded way–well it's British, you know, by saying: (cropped remarks)

"If The Economist failed to foresee so much in 2016, why heed our warning now? The answer is that today the risks are larger. And that is because Mr Trump's policies are worse, the world is more perilous and many of the sober, responsible people who reined in his worst instincts during his first term have been replaced by true believers, toadies, and chancers.

Good presidents unite the country. Mr Trump's political genius is for turning people against each other. After the death of George Floyd, he suggested the army shoot protesters in the leg. America's prosperity depends on the idea that people are treated fairly, regardless of their politics; Mr Trump has threatened to turn the Justice Department on his political enemies.

Next to Mr Trump, Kamala Harris stands for stability. True, she is an underwhelming machine politician. She has struggled to tell voters what she wants to do with power. 

It is hard to imagine Ms Harris being a stellar president, though people can surprise you. But you cannot imagine her bringing about a catastrophe.

Presidents do not have to be saints and we hope that a second Trump presidency would avoid disaster. But Mr Trump poses an unacceptable risk to America and the world. If The Economist had a vote, we would cast it for Ms Harris. "

So now we wait and wait; I can only hope that the election proceeds without disruption and that our country can move forward with Kamala. I am not the best reader of tea leaves here, but with the polls as they are, tea leaves might work as well as anything else!

To distract you from your worries, I present some views from the Smithsonian Zoo Cam of the newly arrived pandas. Bao Li and Qing Bao are the names of the new pandas who will be in quarantine away from the public until January. Bao Li, a male, is a grandchild of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and whose parent, Bao Bao was born at the D.C. zoo. Watch them play and try to not worry too much.

Til later this week, as I hope to have happy news; so with fingers crossed- Peace.