Today is Kamala Harris’ big day. She’s been chosen as Joe Biden’s running mate and their first joint appearance will happen today. All eyes are on Kamala. And, the media has been working overtime to praise Team Biden’s decision. The press is obediently reporting as they have been told to do.

This is the biggest day in the professional life of Kamala Harris. It will only be topped if she and Biden win the election in November. So, it must be a bummer that Barack Obama’s former political strategist and Chicago pal David Axelrod admitted that she was not Biden’s first. He wrote an op-ed for CNN (he is a CNN political commentator) and flat-out said that she was chosen because she’s Biden’s safe choice. Biden, however, preferred Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She’s a White woman, though, so she couldn’t be chosen – the demand for a Black woman was clear.

Others Biden considered may have fit more comfortably into partnership with him.

He reportedly clicked well with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, but she would not have fulfilled the desire of those who prioritized a candidate of color.

Whitmer, a White moderate pick, also would have raised questions among supporters of progressive champion Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, widely viewed after a lifetime of advocacy and a strong campaign for president as a tough, brilliant and capable policymaker. But some also saw Warren as the most polarizing of the potential candidates, who would have been offered by Trump as evidence that the moderate Biden is merely a Trojan Horse for the left.

California Rep. Karen Bass, the widely respected chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, emerged late in the process as the favorite of some on Biden’s team and Democratic leaders in Congress. But she was damaged by reporting on her past positions on Cuba, which some Florida Democrats warned could cost Biden that most important battleground state.

Susan Rice was well known to Biden from her role as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, which gave her perhaps the deepest insight into the demands of the presidency. But she has never run for office before and her choice, they feared, would have revived attacks on her handling of Benghazi, which could have been a distraction.

Axelrod also went on to say that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, was ruled out due to fears over birtherism. Her Thai mother and American father, and her childhood in Thailand and Indonesia were seen as possibly bringing birtherism-style claims against her eligibility, though there is no evidence it.

It comes down to the decision that Kamala Harris is the safe choice. Imagine how crazy the Democrat Party is today that Harris is being portrayed by a fawning media as a moderate. She is not, of course, but in comparison to say, Karen Bass, she appears to be more reasonable. In reality, it was Barack Obama that was pushing Harris to run for president in the first place, if reports are true. He is said to have encouraged her to run during the same time that stories were published that he was telling Biden that he really didn’t have to run. So, was it the heavy hand of Obama and his people that made the decision for Sleepy Joe? I wouldn’t count that out.

While Kamala may be pushed on suburban women and conservative-leaning Black voters as a safe choice, that she is not some far-left socialist, it will be easy for ads to be cut showing a different story from Team Trump. She is in support of Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, and destroying the fossil fuel industry, just to name a few positions. She also supports forgiving student loan debt, free community college, and debt-free four-year college education.

Biden apparently felt that Whitmer was his best choice but she didn’t check the woman of color box. Biden cannot win the election without the votes of Black voters, especially Black women. Hillary Clinton failed to do that and lost in 2016. It is up to Biden to assure Democrat voters that he’ll be the third term of Barack Obama. He’s caved to the far-left at every turn and now he can point to Kamala and tout his choice as the first Black woman to run on a presidential ticket.

Trump is running against Harris, make no mistake about that. He is not running against Biden. Biden is a figurehead and a frail, unwell one at that. Sixty percent of Americans polled think that Biden is unlikely to last a full four-year term in office. While the choice of a vice-presidential candidate is normally not a factor in the minds of voters, this is not a normal election. We’ve never had two septuagenarians running against each other for the top office in the land. Biden is even at the top end of the category at age 77. He’ll turn 78 just days after the election in November. Harris will now be set up to run in 2024 for president, if she has to wait that long, so she will be an aggressive and motivated vice-president, should the Democrats win.

Biden has to do everything possible to not rock the boat. He’ll allow Harris to be the attack dog while he hangs out in his basement as long as possible. He had to use a script during his phone call to Harris to let her know that she is his choice and he held up a cell phone during the call, indicating a third person was on the call. If the man can’t speak to his vice-presidential choice off the cuff, how will he be able to speak with world leaders without notes? After almost 50 years in political office, shouldn’t he be expected to do that, at a minimum?

Kamala is a terrible candidate, which is a plus for Team Trump. Her laugh is odd and sounds forced. She called Biden a racist and took him to task for working with segregationists in the Senate. She said she believed Biden’s accusers – women who spoke out about alleged bad behavior on the part of Biden. Yet, Biden is so cowed by the far-left and the Democrat base that he didn’t even choose a running mate that he is most comfortable with, just to appease Black voters. He has some work to do, though, because the Bernie Bros are not thrilled with Kamala. She was California’s top cop and this year, cops are not popular with them.

Sanders’ former national press secretary is not pleased.

We are in the midst of the largest protest movement in American history, the subject of which is excessive policing, and the Democratic Party chose a “top cop” and the author of the Joe Biden crime bill to save us from Trump.

The contempt for the base is, wow.

— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) August 11, 2020

Barack Obama is thrilled.

I’ve known Senator @KamalaHarris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing. pic.twitter.com/duJhFhWp6g

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 11, 2020