Harris’ Weighty Assignments Could Prove Helpful in Presidential Bid

Now that Kamala Harris has had a few months on the job as vice president, stories are appearing that describe her assignments as impossible. New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, in “Kamala Can’t Win,” argues that Harris is set up for failure, no matter what. The Week asks bluntly if the president is deliberately setting Harris up for failure with the assignments he has given so far, and NBC asserts that by taking on tough tasks, Harris has made her political future riskier than it would be if her portfolio had less challenge and controversy. No doubt her history-making role is fraught with all the tension of a modern vice president with the additional scrutiny that comes from being the first woman and first person of color in the role. Harris is facing double-binds every which way she turns.

But being given challenging tasks — maybe even seemingly impossible ones — is the best way for Harris to be seen as presidential, something that has eluded every woman ever vying for the presidency in the history of the United States. Will Harris be a more electable (a word that often haunts women running for president) presidential candidate in the future by asking for a diversified portfolio of work, to be involved in all meetings, and to have a seat at the table?

We can go all the way back to 1964, when Margaret Chase Smith was described as “the quiet woman,” who landed in politics the old-fashioned way: over her husband’s dead body; or we can rewind just a bit to the 2020 election, when each of the six women — the most ever running for president at one time — was considered unpresidential for one reason or another (including Kamala Harris). Each of the women in 2020 faced some kind of misogyny in her efforts to be president, from Elizabeth Warren being too old, to Marianne Williamson being too woo-woo, and just about everything in between.

When John Adams described his vice presidency by saying, “In this I am nothing,” he was observing that for him, at the time, the vice presidency was nothing more than a security position just in case the president died in office. For years the vice president was seen as one of the most underemployed people in the country — complete with a cushy salary, a nice office, Secret Service protection, and a gorgeous residence, but, alas, not much to do. It may be one of the reasons so few advanced to the presidency. In the past, presidents were not likely to give their vice presidents many governing assignments, maybe because of the old “upstaging” problem that so many powerful leaders fear. Nelson Rockefeller famously described his vice presidency with: “I go to funerals. I go to earthquakes.”

Kamala Harris is not just going to funerals and earthquakes. Instead, she has been given hefty assignments. Whether they are impossible or not, I believe her active vice presidency will serve her well if she chooses to run for president in the future. Here’s why:

In an analysis of nine women who had profiles similar to those of men who became president, my co-authors and I determined that the number one quality women must have to be successful in presidential politics is credentials. Women must have not only government experience but successful campaigning experience. A future female president needs foreign policy experience. As we have seen in the presidential campaigns of eminently qualified women, having all of these credentials is no guarantee of success in political elections for women; however, without them she has no path forward. Numerous women leaders internationally, such as Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand; Angela Merkel of Germany; and several women U.S. secretaries of state, including Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton, have been on the international stage, and having Kamala Harris in Guatemala, Mexico, and anywhere else where important policy needs to be made bodes well for her future presidential potential.

Harris’s first big assignment came in March, when she was put charge of diplomatic efforts around migration from Latin America. When Joe Biden was vice president, he got the same assignment from then then President Obama. It is a prime opportunity for Harris to build up her foreign-policy experience, something imperative for a future presidential bid. Her second significant assignment came in June when she was asked to lead the administration's efforts on voting rights.

Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter’s vice president from 1977 to 1980, was the first vice president to be given an office in the West Wing and complete access to the Oval Office. That continued with Clinton-Gore, Bush-Cheney, and Obama-Biden. In particular, Joe Biden was seen as a true partner in the Obama administration. For Kamala Harris to do the same, she must be able to declare victory in her assignments, not overshadow Joe Biden, and not seem overly ambitious. This does seem impossible, but like all apparent impossibilities, once it is done it is not impossible. Harris has 18 years of governing experience and an emotionally intelligent communication style. It will be that blend of experience and communication savvy that will determine whether the vice presidency of Kamala Harris will truly be a steppingstone to the presidency. As Jo Freeman noted in her groundbreaking book One Room At a Time, women obtain power slowly.

And yet, Harris may be inching toward the presidency only to be shut down with racism and misogyny from the press and public, regardless of her performance as vice president. Her words and deeds will be more harshly evaluated than those of her male competitors, and even those of her women rivals because she will be seen as a greater threat, having been so close to presidential power. A fresh newcomer without much of a track record, let alone experience with difficult tasks, could appear and satisfy the urge for change that so often dictates presidential victories. Still, by asking for a diversified portfolio of work, to be involved in all meetings, and to have a seat at the table, Harris has put in motion her influence and visibility, and maybe her presidential possibility. Without an active vice presidency, it could not happen.