Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Wall Street Journal columnist and former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, Peggy Noonan, offered some leadership advice to Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday.
The subtitle on Noonan’s column warned that Harris’ “shaky standing is a danger to the country given the position she could fill” — referencing Harris’ abysmally low approval ratings and lackluster political clout. Noonan’s central thesis is that Harris “needs to get serious” for the good of the country, in the event she were to become president.
“The good thing about having been killed is nobody expects anything from you because you’re dead,” Noonan wrote, giving Harris the “good news” regarding her situation. “Expectations are low. Ms. Harris can use the time of her deadness to focus on why she’s failing.”
Noonan explained the threats facing the U.S. today, citing “China, Russia, the endurance of the American economy,” and argued that Harris must change tactics if she expects to govern effectively.
Then Noonan dug into an analysis of why Harris is not connecting with the public or the ruling class
Noonan wrote:
She loves the politics of politics too much, and not the meaning. When people meet with her they come away saying that what she cares about is the politics of the issue, not the issue itself. But even as she’s obsessed with the game of national politics she’s not so far particularly good at it. When she sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, she spectacularly flamed out.
Noonan argued that Harris is too “relatively new to town” to take the “Washington insider” track to power and influence. She noted that Harris’ geographic origins come with added trouble: “She came from a generation of California Democrats who never even had to meet a Republican, so great was their electoral dominance.”
To reconnect with the country, Noonan then suggests Harris ditch relying “on her sense of her own personal charisma” and “decide to become serious” by digging into the issues and studying here briefing books.
Noonan concluded, that Harris should embrace earnestness and humble herself:
Let them say you look chastened: People would be relieved to see you look chastened. Let them snidely suggest you had previously hidden your serious side. You did. Let them say you’ve been humbled. You should be. So far you’ve got a lot to be humble about.