Harris strives to surmount one of the main hurdles — her record of publicly insisting that Joe Biden’s evident cognitive decline wasn’t really happening over the course of his presidency.
By Norman Solomon, The Hill
The new book by Kamala Harris, released today, is not only an instant bestseller. “107 Days” is also a launchpad for the former vice president to reach millions of voters likely to see her on presidential primary ballots in 2028.
During the next few weeks, the book will combine with media interviews and a speaking tour of nearly 20 major cities to propel her back into the Democratic limelight.
The book is a smooth read. Its 300 pages present Harris as a complex woman, sometimes openly vulnerable and even self-critical, while necessarily tough-minded about politics. Behind-the-scenes anecdotes are plentiful, and even include a marital spat with her husband Doug Emhoff during the stretch drive of the grueling 2024 campaign.
“107 Days” could do a lot to buff up Harris’s image. It is less likely to solve key political barriers she’s going to face if she opts to seek the next Democratic presidential nomination.
Harris strives to surmount one of the main hurdles — her record of publicly insisting that Joe Biden’s evident cognitive decline wasn’t really happening over the course of his presidency. That reality was obvious from afar, so how could Harris be working so closely with the president and pretend there was no problem?
Such questions are sure to linger in the political air, and “107 Days” fails to answer them satisfactorily. The book says about Biden’s decision to run again that “in retrospect, I think it was recklessness.” Yet Harris provides an explanation for her own conduct that many will read more as an excuse: “Of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out. I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run. He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty.”
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