As Ronald Reagan might have said, Graham, "there you go again." First, you gave us a biased report from Lionel Shriver and now the Spike article, both of which lack the accuracy, independence and historical weight of premiere American historians such as Doris Kearns Goodwin, Michael Beschloss, or Jon Meacham. If someone (I mean you, Graham) wants to hear an unbiased, intelligent assessment of the American election, listen to this interview with Jon Meacham, who has written on and confided with Republican and Democratic presidents alike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diQLrJaOc6w Secondly, your statement that she came on stage "with a cheesy, false smile" is in the eye of the beholder. Kamala Harris possesses an authentic, unforced laugh and she was not cowed when Fox News and conservative outlets mocked her for it. She kept being herself. "A 12 year old brat and a 14 yr old girl fighting?" A brat? Kamala Harris pointed out the real autocratic dangers of a Trump presidency and she did it from a high moral plane, without resorting to the kind of bile that her opponent used. Vacuous soundbites? Insipid? Are you again showing your biases? As for cultural iconography, every presidential candidate has them in tow; it's just that Harris had more popular ones than Kid Rock, Ted Nugent or Hulk Hogan. And yes, Graham, almost every candidate has gone on Saturday Night Live in the 21st Century from John McCain to Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Forgive us... it's generally lighthearted and not to be taken too seriously. As for Israel and Palestinian issues you fail to realize the religious/Christian Nationalist fervor that still exists in the United States— you should know this, considering how many articles you write referencing spirituality. In the US to go aganst Israel for anything is, unfortunately, a death sentence for that candidate with more than half the electorate. So yes, that is a needle she had to thread. But make no mistake: Trump will give Netanyahu, another criminal, as much leeway as he wishes to destroy Gaza, Lebanon and whatever else Israel wishes to do. Harris would not do that. Netanyahu hated Biden because he would not rubber stamp the Israeli PM. There is much more that I could say about your two articles, but I'll leave it here: I do agree with the very last thing you said: " This will require a massive raising of consciousness of the American public." And the world. Because the entire world faces growing autocracy as it did in the 1930s. Kamala Harris did not lose because she was a bad candidate. Actually, given the two months she had to hit the ground running she was exceptional. But make no mistake— if she had promised blue-collar workers the world, it would have made no difference. America is a place of fear and/or male grievance and/or Christian Nationalism for at least half the population. That is the force that will ONLY be eroded by growth in consciousness and maybe that will have to take some pain and suffering. Certainly, an intelligent, heartfelt, principled woman of color was not going to get that support this time around. My country, apparently, wants to learn the hard way.
