Kamala Harris makes history, invokes Tamil Indian heritage as she accepts VP nomination

WASHINGTON: With an emotional nod to her Indian heritage and a sharp, subtle warning aimed at President Trump, former prosecutor and California Senator Kamala Devi Harris made history on Thursday night, becoming the first American woman of black and “desi” ethnicity to win a major party nomination for US vice-presidency.
On a night that underscored the female power surge in the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris rode on endorsements from past presidential aspirants Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, delivering wholesome tribute to her Indian mother Shyamala Gopalan before she lit into Trump for “chaos, incompetence and lost lives” while making the case for a Biden Presidency.
Accusing Trump of “turning our tragedies into political weapons,” she pledged that “Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose,” while speaking from his home base in Delaware on Day 3 of the Democratic Party’s virtual/online convention. “We’re at an inflection point. The constant ­chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot. And here’s the thing: We can do better and deserve so much more.” Harris said in a critique of the Trump Presidency and the promise of what is to come in a Biden-Harris dispensation.
Significantly, Harris made no mention of vice-president Mike Pence while training her guns on Trump, enhancing the impression that she would be a Biden surrogate and a regent who will take on the incumbent more than the Presidential nominee himself.
“I know a predator when I see one,” she said in one pointed remark in a speech that largely emphasized family values.
But it was her backstory as the child of immigrant parents in the 1960s that formed the tender, human element into the prosecutorial speech. Recalling that she got a “stroller’s-eye view” of civil rights protests her parents took her to as a child growing up in Berkeley and Oakland, she warmly recalled her mother, who she said instilled familial and civcl values into her.
Harris’ address was preceded by a rousing endorsement from former President Barack Obama, who like her is mixed-race. Obama was scheduled to speak after her but switched places to cede the finale to her.
In a political-philosophical address delivered against the backdrop of the US Constitution at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Obama warned of the threat to US democracy from Trump and his antics.
Former American Presidents are traditionally and characteristically respectful of incumbent successors regardless of party affiliation, but the gloves -- and all bets -- were off as Obama torched Trump, accusing him of being irresponsible, incompetent, disinterested, and narcissisitic, while “treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.”
“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t,” Obama said. “And the consequences of that failure are severe: 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before."
Speaking before Obama, Hillary Clinton rued that voters took Trump's dangerous impulses lightly four years ago and were regretting not having voted in greater numbers “Look, this can’t be another ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’ election," she said, urging people to vote early and vote in big numbers so there could be no doubt about the verdict.
The combined attacks over two hours caused a familiar Trump meltdown on Twitter. “HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!” the US President raged in all caps even as Obama was speaking, causing Democrats to point out the monitoring was well-merited since a Republican-led Senate probe itself had pointed to Trump campaigns ties to foreign elements. "WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE? WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN? BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???" Trump then asked of Obama.
When Harris was speaking, Trump tweeted "BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???"

But Democrats held centerstage (the GOP convention begins next week) showcasing their diversity with videoclips featuring women and minorities who now form the core of the party’s base.