Kamala Harris made history in January when she became the first woman and Asian American person ever to hold the office of Vice President of the United States.
Author and journalist Dan Morain maps out Vice President Kamala Harris’ path to the White House in his new book titled Kamala’s Way: An American Life. The biography details how the daughter of two immigrants rose up to become one of the most powerful political players in the country.
Morain tells Inside the Issues Harris has always been a determined leader focused on advancing her career.
“She had ambitions to move up the political ladder, all politicians who succeed have ambitions, so nothing out of the ordinary in that,” Morain explained. “She is a very smart, very agile thinker. She’s strategic, she thinks more than one step ahead. She does listen to advice. She can be a very tough boss.”
Before becoming Vice President, Harris served as San Francisco's District Attorney, Attorney General of California and a United States Senator. She announced her bid for president in 2019, but eventually suspended her campaign and was chosen as Joe Biden’s presidential running mate.
In the book, Morain outlines Harris’ previous positions to give readers a better sense of her career and policy positions. In particular, he says she’s held a strong opposition to the death penalty throughout her time as an attorney.
“She ran for District Attorney in San Francisco as an opponent of the death penalty and she promised voters in San Francisco that she would not seek the death penalty,” Morain said. “She was put to the test when police officer Isaac Espinoza was doing his job fighting crime, being a good cop and a fellow turned around and had a semi-automatic rifle in his jacket and killed Officer Espinoza. Before Espinoza’s funeral, Harris announced she would not seek the death penalty. That was no small political cost to her.”
He notes there were many other instances where Harris could have sought the death penalty and chose not to, even though she had to deal with the political consequences of these decisions.
Morain adds the Vice President’s main strength as a politician comes from her ability to communicate with her constituents and inspire those around her.
“She can also be incredibly charismatic and charming if you see her giving a speech to a large room, she lights up that room. She is a very good speaker. She’s a good retail politician. All these are part of Kamala’s way,” Morain added.
In his research on Harris’ biography, Morain spoke with several people close to the Vice President who shared the quieter details of her personality. He was particularly surprised to learn how empathetic she is when the cameras are off, a trait he believes is of great importance while the country continues to reel from division and the pandemic.
“I think Kamala Harris, tough though she is, strategic though she is, is a woman with a heart,” Morain said. “I think that matters in these difficult times.”
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