To the editor: I read Jonah Goldberg’s column every week, because I look for different points of view that allow me to have a clearer view of the political landscape. That said, I don’t like his views and writing at all. (“Here’s why Kamala Harris avoids the press and gets away with it,” Opinion, August 6).
Is President Biden “grumpy” and “senescent”? Aren’t we all getting older?
On July 21, Biden declared he would not be a candidate. In the first days of August, enough delegate votes guaranteed that Vice President Kamala Harris was the Democratic nominee, and she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Immediately, Goldberg and other members of her tribe are clamoring for an “aggressive” press to challenge her.
But remember, Harris is still vice president and Biden will remain president for another six months. Except for January 6, 2021, did former Vice President Mike Pence ever breach the barriers that former President Trump set? Of course not.
“I don’t like the sudden romance between the press and Harris,” Goldberg writes. But this is only a three-week honeymoon, as Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency in November 2022.
Paul Milberg, Oak Park
..
To the editor: Goldberg raises an important if perhaps uncomfortable point in his column.
The press didn’t accept Biden’s teleprompter appearances after the June 28 debate as proof of his competence to campaign, but suddenly the media is perfectly fine with Harris speaking exclusively at mass rallies from a podium.
The press demanded press conferences and interviews to determine whether Biden was still up to the job. Harris should be held to the same standard.
She has been phenomenal reading from the teleprompter to raucous applause from her most loyal fans, but many Americans still know little about what a Harris presidency would entail.
Democrats may be comfortable with the current strategy, but there remains a small minority of independent and undecided voters, and Harris’ strategy raises questions about why her staff is shielding her from environments she doesn’t control.
Nicholas Gaines, Lake Balboa
