There is an old Chinese proverb, "May you live in interesting times."
We live in very interesting times indeed.
In just two short weeks:
1) Donald Trump was nearly assassinated.
2) Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate.
3) Joe Biden decided to drop out of the race.
4) Kamala Harris, with Joe Biden's endorsement, is quickly consolidating support among Democratic leaders for her run.
If we wanted things to be even more interesting, it would have been fascinating if the Democrats decided to run an open convention, giving all aspirants a chance to try out for the role of president.
But it's late in the game, and Democrats had some catching up to do. Hence the quick rallying around Kamala.
Democrats, who had just about given up hope with Biden still in the race, seem to think they can now turn this around and prevail in November.
There is much buzz about who will be picked to run as VP on Harris's ticket. Like many Americans, I like to engage in armchair punditry.
I think Mark Kelly of Arizona makes a great pick for many reasons:
1) He has military experience.
2) My goodness, he's an ASTRONAUT. What could be cooler than that?
3) He's moderate and reasonable.
4) He's the wonderfully supportive husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was severely impaired by a lunatic gunman.
5) Coming from a border state, he is a big supporter of long-overdue immigration reform.
6) Arizona is a swing state.
7) He's only 60 at a time when age has become an issue. 60 isn't too old. Suddenly Donald Trump is the old guy in this race.
While we're at it, how about Pete Buttigieg for White House Chief of Staff? He's smart, level-headed and doesn't get ruffled. Young people like him. A friend of mine came up with this idea, which I'm borrowing because I like it.
I think it's safe to say this will be a hard-fought campaign with huge potential for nastiness all around.
The Democrats have big vulnerabilities when it comes to inflation and immigration. On the Republican side, let's face it, Donald Trump is a polarizing figure. Some love him, really love him, and some don't, really really don't.
He has an amazing ability to dodge bullets -- literally and figuratively.
It's hard not to like J.D. Vance's personal story. I like the fact he spent time in Silicon Valley as a venture capitalist. That means he's into innovation. I like his wife, Usha, too.
So suddenly this race is downright exciting.
I think we'll see record turnout this November. Stay tuned.
Acknowledgment: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author.
You're absolutely correct, we're living in fascinating times. I'm a little bit of a Hamilton fan and I've been stealing the lyrics "How lucky we are to be alive right now." I'm glad to be able to vote in this election.
As for Kamala's vice president pick, I do like Pete Buttigieg. However, I think you're right in saying he would do well as the White House Chief of Staff. Mark Kelly would be that strategic choice since he is from a swing state.
Indeed, we live in interesting times! If you would've told me four years ago that Donald Trump would be shot in the ear in a failed assassination attempt, I probably would have laughed. But now, the Secret Service Director Cheatle has (finally) resigned after many painful congressional hearings (or as I like to say: congressional grillings).
But back to the main topic: Kamala's vice president. The Internet was making its rounds, as it tends to do, and I stumbled across a satirical post suggesting that Biden step back into a lesser role, one that he's familiar in, and run as Kamala's vice president. This wouldn't ever happen, but I found it amusing that people are even making jokes about it.