Harris and the Vice Presidency in a Historical Context

My History Can Beat Up Your Politics

Bruce Carlson

News, Politics, History

4.5 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Office or incumbent? The office has been described as a nullity and a spare tire. The historic incumbents include many 'also-rans' and some did very little to speak of in office, or anywhere.. A few did not speak to the President while in office. One VP was described as a "smiling mediocrity" (and that was supposed to be a good thing). So can you judge an occupant? The media certainly thinks so, and has made Kamala Harris a topic of attention. Is this fair? On one hand, there's an overall critical tinge to coverage that seems to have started January 21st. On the other there are some historic facts behind it, as Harris has the best predictable chance of becoming President of any modern VP, and comes from less years experience in Washington than recent incumbents. Can history add anything to such a partisan divide question? Spurred on by an article from Bill Scher in Washington Monthly - check it out [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021/11/26/vice-presidents-get-no-respect-kamala-harris-is-no-exception/] we look at this question. Is it, as Scher suggests, the office and we need to cut its newest incumbent slack? Or does the incumbent drive? Is there any way to judge a Vice President? Short answer - We think there can be VP success and failure, but in the end, it's a political job with political goals, and that's what watchers of politics should be focused on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello all, Eric Rivenus with the most notorious podcast here. Each week I
0:05.5	interview an author or historian about a historical true crime tragedy or
0:10.4	disaster. Subject matter ranges from gunslingers to
0:14.5	gilded-age murder to gangsters to fires to pirates to wild prison breaks. My
0:20.3	guests bring their incredible knowledge directly to you. Please subscribe to
0:24.8	most notorious on your favorite podcast app. Cheers and have a safe tomorrow.
0:54.8	Splendid misery, a man in a cataleptic fit, unable to speak, the fifth wheel on the
1:05.1	coach of government, the last cookie on the plate, the spare tire, the next highest
1:11.7	job in the executive branch and the lowest at the same time, the pitcher of
1:16.4	warm spit, a nullity, a nothing, a sand trap of American politics. These all tell
1:24.2	you about this office.
1:34.3	As President Biden said, the job is and he used the B word. Of course he didn't say
1:45.3	that in a large public speech, he said it to the vice president of the Harvard
1:49.8	student body.
2:06.3	Hi my friend. I'm my friend.
2:11.8	Everyone of these guys trying to influence you. I'm not at all to
2:17.9	do want to balance you. You want a guy to want to boss. There's no way they can
2:22.9	come and not. But you hear of the speech in life and thank him for coming. You
2:26.9	want a guy that doesn't got to go down and transform the last team goal that he
2:33.7	loved to do it and be happy. You know, it just touches to me as well. Somebody's
2:39.8	got to do that. Now you've got it all wrong. I mean, you'd have to not be reading
2:44.4	news at all to not see headlines about Kamala Harris and the job she's doing as
	...

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