Why did Kamala Harris pick Walz? Those of us who live here have little doubt Minnesota would end up in the Democrat column electorally come November, despite some polling data and the perpetually sunny optimism of the state’s flailing Republican opposition (“There’s always next year!” isn’t a tagline reserved for Minnesota’s sports fans).

My guess is Harris picked Walz partly based on feelings, perhaps an optimistic disposition that Walz mirrors the same Regular Guy authenticity that won Joe Biden the presidency. They both claim an appeal to the working class yet are politicians at their core. They’re blowhards of the first order. And both oversaw some of the worst, most viscerally destructive events in recent years: the rioting and burning of Minneapolis in 2020 and the blundered Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

So, Walz makes a decent choice for vice president on a surface-level, non-threatening everyman, Minnesota Nice, passive-aggressive way. But only if you don’t think about it too hard.