Jeff Greenfield: “If you’re compiling a list of the head-spinning, gob-smacking, I’ve-never-seen-this-before events of the 2024 campaign, here’s one more potentially decisive factor to add: A sitting vice president has become the ‘change’ candidate.”
“It’s almost a violation of the laws of the political universe. By definition, a vice president looking to inherit the Oval Office has been part of the outgoing administration, and there’s only so much distance that a vice president can credibly put between them and their boss.”
“But this time, the sudden elevation of Kamala Harris, along with the identity and character of her opponent, has — for now at least — made her the candidate who embodies change, no matter how little her policies differ from the current president. That this happened by accident rather than design does not make it any less potent as a political asset.”
