On June 12, I turned 60, and coincidentally Vice President Kamala Harrisand her husband Doug Emhoffhosted a Pride party that day at their home at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.
Related topics: Kamala Harris: Our one-on-one conversation with the Vice President
When I tell people I met her thanks to my wonderful colleague Christopher Wiggins, or when friends see pictures of Harris on my social media, they immediately ask with excitement, “What’s she like?” And I thought I’d share with you what I’m telling them now that she has accepted the nomination to be our next president.
First, she and her husband Doug (pictured below) are also turning 60 this year. Harris on October 20 and Emhoff a week earlier on October 13. I met him first, told him about his 60th birthday and he said, “You beat me to it. I’ll be 60 in October.” He’s a very easy-going guy, although I must admit I had to dodge a few Secret Service agents to get to him.
After the Vice President finished speaking to the small crowd gathered around the surprisingly small pool in her backyard, she made her way back to the house. As she approaches, you immediately feel the aura that surrounds her. It’s tangible and real. Trust me.
She wished me a happy birthday and gently patted me on the shoulder. Then she pointed her finger at me and said, “You are a dragon.” At first I thought she was going to say something negative to me, so I looked at her and said in a voice that hinted at slight disapproval, “What does that mean?”
Harris explained that it was a Chinese zodiac sign and that it meant I was intelligent, confident, charismatic and naturally lucky – the latter I couldn’t argue with as I felt pretty lucky while talking to her. I took a few photos with her (including the one above).
She said goodbye, wished me to enjoy my birthday and walked away, and as she did so I muttered into the void, “She’s going to be president.” It was so obvious, and in that moment I had a strong premonition. She would next President. And when I tell people how I spent my 60th birthday party, I let them know what I think she was getting at.
I have often said how much I love President Joe Bidenand I often wrote about him and glowing over the years, and I even met him many, many years ago when I was working on the Hill. But with Harris there was a sense of exuberance, joy, confidence – well, let’s put it this way, all the attributes she gave me about being a Dragon are more applicable to her.
Especially the part about luck. It’s unbearably difficult to be nominated as a candidate for President of the United States: to get there you need a lot of hard work, talent, ego, being in the right place at the right time, and a whole lot of luck. All of that applies to Harris, who made it to the top. It takes an unusual confluence of all of those things for a presidential nomination to happen. And all of that happened to her.
If you look at our history, you will find that the personality, background and temperament of the president very often coincide with the spirit of the country and, unknown to the voters at the time, with the needs of the country. Abraham Lincoln’s Constitution was a metaphor for the outcome of the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt’s The struggle and determination that tormented us so much through polio carried us through the Great Depression and World War II.
After eight years of aging Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy’s Youth, good looks and a young family swept Americans into the newness and possibilities of the 1960s. And although his term was short, Gerald Ford’s Through humility, the country was able to heal the scars of the Watergate scandal.
Now comes Harris in 2024. Since 2016, America has been run by ageing white men, some dangerous and destructive, others experienced and kind. It took Joe Biden, a 78-year-old rowdy kid with a stutter from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to get America back on its feet after four years of the egotistical narcissist. Donald Trump who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
While challenging Trump in the primaries this year, the former South Carolina governor was … Nikki Haley said that the party that gets rid of its 80-year-old at the top of the ticket will win in November. Biden selflessly stepped aside and quickly endorsed Harris. I know why, and it’s because he knew exactly what I saw – Harris had that elusive “it” factor and the charisma of a winner.
And wow, she showed that tonight during her stirring speech to the nation.
“Dear Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Wherever I go – in everyone I meet – I see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America,” she said. In fact, everyone she meets, like me, is ready to move forward with her.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to put the bitterness, cynicism and divisive struggles of the past behind us. A chance to forge a new path forward. Not as members of a party or faction, but as Americans,” she added. And like Lincoln, FDR and JFK before her, she is the right person in our time to lead us forward.
In a statement, she summed up everything about who she is and why she should be at this turning point. “I will be a president who unites us around our highest goals. A president who leads – and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, this has been my life’s work.”
No one else could have stepped in and done what she did. When she walks into rooms, rallies and stadiums, the crowd sees in vivid representation what I saw on my 60th birthday. She electrifies the atmosphere around her. She radiates joy, excitement, possibility, youth, exuberance, intelligence and confidence – all the qualities America is looking for right now to soothe its prickly and somber mood.
Harris is the right leader for our time.
She is known for her quote from her mother, who said, “Don’t let anyone tell you who you are; show who you are.” And Kamala Harris is really showing us who she is.
You don’t have to spend three days with her to understand her dignity. In a minute-long conversation, it becomes abundantly clear. Everyone who sees her has to leave saying the same thing I did: “She will be president one day.” I and many others have no doubt where Kamala Harris will be at noon on January 20, 2025.
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