EDITORIAL: The Straits Times says- Crucial phase in race for White House

United States presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s decision to have Ms Kamala Harris, the junior senator from California, as his running mate in the Nov 3 election has electrified the campaign and sent a frisson around the world. The daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, she rose to attention as the first woman, African American and Asian American to be attorney-general of California, America’s wealthiest state. Close to a generation apart from her political boss, Mr Biden, who will be 78 years old if he succeeds in winning the presidency, there is an even chance that she could end up in the White House eventually. Ms Harris, 55, is an obvious legatee of Mr Barack Obama, the first black US president, as she acknowledged in a speech when she was picked to share the ticket.

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More recently, the Black Lives Matter movement has added ballast to the Democratic ticket, which stands in contrast to that of President Donald Trump, who is ever mindful of his White America base and is frequently accused of being misogynistic. More importantly, the contest this year is taking place against the backdrop of the sharpest economic contraction in a century, brought on by the ravages of the yet-to-be contained coronavirus pandemic. The calm demeanour that fronts a sharp intellect is a key part of the Harris equation, as are the racial diversity and appeal to women and younger voters that she brings. Her own bid for the Democratic nomination has left her battle-tested. But weighing against her is her record as a prosecutor, which critics say was marked by a pronounced tilt towards law enforcement at the expense of civil rights. Racial justice and police reform in the US have come to the fore in America’s political landscape.