I haven’t posted here in years. I got sidetracked, distracted, busy. Lazy? Maybe, a little.
Well, I’m back. I’m back because we’re on the brink of either a disaster for democracy or a gigantic leap forward for our country and our culture.
President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race. I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.
He has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. My emotions (and probably the emotions of millions of Americans) have been in turmoil– running along a crazy, uneven path– from gobsmacked, angry, sad, and frightened to (surprising to me) relief, glimmering hope, peeking optimism, and finally, outright excitement.
Before I proceed, I want to say I love President Biden. He’s done more for us than any other president in recent times and in fact has been transformational. He’s America’s dad and granddad. He’s decent, honorable, caring and knows how to get shit done. I thank him and I hope you do, too, because he deserves it.
And Kamala Harris? She can do it! She’s whip smart, an aggressive prosecutor, and she has the moral clarity, wisdom, strength and values I want in a president. She will represent our country well. She is abundantly qualified.
I have to tell you I was devastated when Hillary Clinton lost to Trump. I watched in disbelief and despair as misogyny and apathy brought her down. I lost a lot of hope in us, our country, our collective judgment. When I first heard rumors that President Biden might drop out I was afraid that the same misogyny would be in play. Throw in racism, and I just didn’t have any confidence that Harris could win.
But–here’s the thing. I’m different now. We’re all different now. We have lived through the chaotic, ugly, disastrous Trump presidency. We have seen MAGA grow into an honest-to-goodness cult. We have seen Trump morph from an inept, stupid, narcissistic monster into a full-blown inept, stupid, narcissistic FASCIST monster.
So yes, I do believe the time is right for a woman president– and a woman of color, no less. I believe our country is finally ready for this momentous change. And if we’re not quite there yet, we have to work to get people on board.
This is not the time to whine or wring our hands. It’s time to work hard and to muster our optimism.
It’s time to elect Kamala Harris as our president.