Kamala Harris – A Disaster or Just Another Average VEEP? – There have been countless reports that have suggested Vice President Kamala Harris is a disaster. As Fox News recently reported following an appearance by Harris at the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture conference last month, she received mockery for offering the latest example of her now signature “word salad.”
The vice president meant to make a poignant statement about culture, but it clearly missed the mark.
“Culture is — it is a reflection of our moment and our time. Right? And present culture is the way we express how we’re feeling about the moment and we should always find times to express how we feel about the moment. That is a reflection of joy. Because, you know…it comes in the morning,” Harris said as she then broke out into laughter – another signature trait that has been called out by her critics.
“We have to find ways to also express the way we feel about the moment in terms of just having language and a connection to how people are experiencing life. And I think about it in that way, too,” she then added.
Following the remarks, she was called out on social media, hardly for the first time. But a question to ask is does it really matter?
Critics of Harris argued she is one of the worst VPs in history, but the list of contenders is anything but short.
Worse Than Kamala Harris
Even if Harris makes the not-so-shortlist, she won’t ever top it.
That dishonor would likely go to Spiro Agnew, who was forced to resign in 1973 after being investigated for taking kickbacks! President Richard Nixon was even asked in 1972 as allegations were already stirring why he’d keep Agnew on the ticket.
His answer: “Because no assassin in their right mind would kill me!”
It should be noted that Nixon had already earned his infamous nickname “Tricky Dick” after he was accused of maintaining an illegal slush fund while the running mate of Dwight Eisenhower – who had as colorful a zinger about Nixon as Nixon did of Agnew. When asked about Nixon’s contributions, Ike remarked, “If you give me a week, I might think of one.”
Then there is Aaron Burr, who actually murdered his rival Alexander Hamilton in the duel made famous by the Broadway musical. He only escaped justice as Hamilton was shot in New Jersey but died in New York! What is absolutely shocking is that the duel occurred while Burr was vice president under President Thomas Jefferson, who never trusted his VEEP, apparently for very good reasons. Even worse, after leaving office Burr was accused of treason for conspiracy to create an independent country in the Southwestern United States while he planned to annex parts of Mexico.
Another contender for worst of the worst is John C. Calhoun, who in the most bizarre twist of fate was VEEP to both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Those men hated one another but hated the racist, slave-owning Calhoun even more. As VP to Adams (a Northern abolitionist), Calhoun opposed many of the president’s plans and then jumped ship to support Jackson – only to feud with his new boss.
The Recent VEEPs
Part of the Kamala Harris disaster that the media is so intent on reporting about is that our 24/7 news cycle allows every gaffe to get its moment in the spotlight, and even go viral on social media.
The word salad of Harris is hardly that much worse than that of Dan Quayle who offered a series of “Quaylisms” while serving as President George H.W. Bush’s VEEP including “If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure” and “A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.”
This is why we remember then-Vice President Joe Biden’s countless gaffes or the fly that landed on Mike Pence’s head during a 2020 debate (not that the incident made him a bad VEEP).
It Is Just the Vice President
Though it is true that the vice president is just one heartbeat away from the Oval Office, the fact also remains that the office of vice president isn’t really all that significant – despite the role that Dick Cheney may have played under President George W. Bush. Cheney was easily the most powerful vice president in our nation’s history – but the same is hardly true of Harris.
Instead, she was picked as Joe Biden’s running mate because she checked the boxes. She was a woman, an African-American, and an Asian-American. While she came from California, which is hardly a battleground state, she served as a West Coast balance to Biden, who resided in Delaware.
She was a safe bet in 2020, and looking at those who had come before, she is hardly the worst we’ve had to serve as vice president.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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