London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 22, 2026

American democracy seeks to reinvent itself

American democracy seeks to reinvent itself

If something is common and normal in the politics of the United States, it is that there is nothing common and normal in the politics of that country. On Tuesday, August 11, another glass ceiling was smashed, and a new milestone was reached in race relations in the troubled country.

Kamala Harris is a character, the kind that seems to only exist in fiction. Her life has many parallels with Barak Obama, and perhaps this explains why she was chosen as Biden's running mate to become vice president of the United States, if victorious. Kamala is the name of an Indian goddess, a Sanskrit word used by her mother, an Indian researcher, to name her daughter. Harris's father was a Jamaican economist who met her mother at the University of Berkeley in California.

So, like Obama, Senator Harris is the daughter of a migrant academic who abandoned him when he separated from his mother at 5 years of age. With her family background, Harris studied at Howard University and the University of California Law School. Her entire life has been dedicated to public service, primarily as a district attorney in San Francisco California, then as Attorney General for the state of California, and currently as a senator from California to the upper house of the United States.

What does Harris bring to Biden? Both Biden and Harris are attorneys, both of whom had experience in the Senate before being chosen for the vice presidency. Harris's selection is a recognition of the most important segment of voters in the Democratic Party: black women. In addition, Harris adds the qualities of the daughter of extremely hardworking migrants, and that of a woman noted for having a career as a law enforcement advocate, an important factor that helps convince independent voters and moderate Republicans, that the Democratic Party does not it is going to "soften" too much with criminal policy.

In addition, Senator Harris, 55, brings the energy and work capacity that Biden, 77, does not have. Presidential candidate Biden has indicated that due to his advanced age, he would be a one-term "transitional" president, which opens the door for a hypothetical Vice President Harris to become the first female president of the United States. Biden understands that the great economic and political changes in the United States are the result of great negotiations between the Executive Branch and Congress. By constitution, the vice president of the United States is also the president of the Senate, and therefore must have a great deal of negotiation and dolling capacity to carry out an agenda of social change.

I believe that the Democratic Party operators, together with candidate Biden, made a good selection: female, black, Californian, and former prosecutor. A moderate proposal that at the same time presents a radical change, beyond the face. It's a celebration of meritocracy, and the hope that America used to represent.

This article was written by Rodrigo Noriega, and it originally appeared in Spanish in La Prensa

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Parliamentary Inquiry Highlights Urgent Need to Address Housing Shortage as Scottish Completions Hit Eleven-Year Low
United Kingdom and Singapore Sign Comprehensive Financial Agreement to Deepen Digital and Sustainable Market Ties
Greggs Announces Plan to Close Four Manufacturing Facilities and Cut Seven Hundred and Forty Jobs
International Monetary Fund Raises United Kingdom Economic Growth Forecast While Warning of Inflationary Pressures
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs Onto Gas to Lower Household Bills
Housebuilding Across Scotland Plummets to Eleven-Year Low Despite Government Pledges to Tackle National Housing Emergency
Greggs Announces Factory Closures Across Northern England and Scotland Affecting Seven Hundred Forty Jobs
United Kingdom and Singapore Conclude Eleventh Financial Dialogue in Singapore to Deepen Cooperation on Digital Finance and Capital Markets
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs to Gas Bills and Tap Windfall Profits to Lower Consumer Prices
British Broadcasting Corporation Announces Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul to Close Linear Broadcast Services for Television Channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland Alongside Digital Radio Station BBC Radio Four Extra
London Capital Markets Face Renewed Scrutiny After High-Profile Offerings Underperform Post-Listing
Green Party Wins Historic First Westminster Parliamentary By-Election in Gorton and Denton
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds Unveils Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul for English Water Industry
United Kingdom Health Security Agency Confirms Thirty-Four Cases in Kent Meningitis Outbreak
Ministry of Defence Prepares Heat Pump Subsidy Cuts to Fund Urgent Military Modernization
British and European Union Officials Schedule Long-Awaited Bilateral Leaders Summit for November Twentieth
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Urges Strict Fiscal Credibility to Protect British Bond Markets
United Kingdom Inflation Rises to Three Point One Percent Driven by Escalating Fuel Costs
Profit Warnings Among London-Listed Companies Reach Two-Year High Amid Global Energy Shocks
Chancellor John Healey Signals Targeted Tax Changes on Banks and London Corporate Offices Ahead of Budget
British Government Reallocates Twenty-Five Per Cent of International Climate Finance to Global Biodiversity Projects
Initial British Carbon Border Taxes Set to Undercut Parallel European Union Tariffs on Industrial Imports
Whitehall Prepares National Zero-Interest Loan Initiative to Accelerate Domestic Heat Pump and Solar Adoption
European Union Offers British Automakers Access to Hybrid Vehicle Trade Protections Subject to Strict Regulatory Alignment
British Probation Officers Threaten Widespread Industrial Action After Rejecting Five Per Cent Government Pay Offer
Microsoft Abandons Major British Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Citing Severe National Grid Power Constraints
United Kingdom Inflation Accelerates to Three Point Four Per Cent Ahead of Chancellor John Healey's Inaugural Autumn Budget
Surging Cloned Number Plates Severely Complicate Traffic Enforcement and Police Investigations
Mounting Opposition Challenges Planned Rollout of Autonomous Taxis Across London
Influential Think Tank Urges Rejoining European Union to Navigate Geopolitical Crises
Government Review Recommends Slashing Benefits to Fund Youth Employment Initiatives
Senior Minister Shabana Mahmood Seeks New Law Enforcement Pact With European Union
Airbus Executive Warns Britain Risks Losing Crucial Role in European Space Industry
Exorbitant Electricity Costs Push British Steelmakers to Worst Competitive Position in Three Years
British Food and Beverage Exports to European Union Collapse by Over a Third Since Brexit
Up to Twenty English Maternity Units Face Impending Closure Due to Safety and Staffing Crises
Government Declares Severe Drought Across Southern England Following Record Dry Spell
Corporate Profit Warnings Reach Two-Year High Amid Middle East Conflict and Rising Costs
International Monetary Fund Warns Chancellor John Healey Against Proposed Bank Tax Raid
Northern Ireland Secures Favorable Agricultural Export Agreement with European Union
Scottish Government Approves Major Offshore Floating Wind Farm Near Aberdeenshire
High Speed Two Rail Project Faces Three Billion Pound Cost Escalation on Initial Phase
National Health Service Warns of Winter Capacity Crisis Across English Hospitals
Tata Steel Confirms Two Thousand Job Cuts at Port Talbot to Fund Green Transition
Global Microchip Developer Announces Three Billion Pound Semiconductor Plant in Cambridge
United Kingdom Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Proposes Mandatory Licensing for Generative Models
United Kingdom Commits Additional Long-Range Weapons and Air Defenses to Ukraine
British Chancellor Overhauls Infrastructure Financing to Bypass Borrowing Constraints
Bank of England Holds Benchmark Interest Rate at Four Point Five Percent
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth Confirms Constitutional Discussions Over Welsh Independence During Initial Bilateral Call with Prime Minister
×