It's Kamala!

[CJD]

I think, given the options and circumstances, Kamala was the safest choice which, in an election where you basically want to keep it as a referendum on Trump, makes it the best choice.

I think Susan Rice would have created controversy because she was NSA during the Obama administration which would have inevitably made people say "But Benghazi!" and that would have potentially relapsed us into a Hillary discussion which no one in the DNC wanted.

I think Karen Bass would have sparked "But communism!" because of her past comments on Fidel Castro which you want to avoid in this scenario as well.

And if he selected Val Demmings, I think a lot of people would have said "Who?" similar to the reaction when Tim "Who is Tim Kaine?" Kaine was selected in 2016.

Kamala is a recognizable person who gained a lot of fame for her questioning of Kavanaugh, which was viewed positively by a lot of people.

I think she can be considered progressive if you squint because she initially sponsored Medicare for All but she's also a moderate if you squint because during her campaign, she backtracked on that sponsoring. It makes me think she's an opportunist who will say whatever gets her the most votes, but that describes a metric shit ton of politicians so...

She will theoretically help with multiple minority groups because she is biracial. There is a question of if she will actually help with black voters when she was responsible for putting a lot of people in jail for marijuana use, which is a relic of the "war on crime" which disproportionately affected and criminalized black people, but I think that will only affect the most informed voters, which the majority of Americans are not.

So you get a lot of small bonuses among several groups of voters by picking Kamala and she doesn't significantly hurt any group of voters like a Bass or Rice selection would have.

She will suffer with LGBTQ+ supporters because of her treatment of trans prisoners, but again, that will only affect the most informed voters.

Am I excited by the pick? No...Am I devastated by the pick? No, not really. I already knew it wasn't going to be a progressive, so given the options, I like that Kamala at least feigns progressivism on occasion...