Saying "Thank You, Thank You"

During a news conference, President Trump addressed the possibility of meeting with black legislators by asking African-American journalist April Ryan "Do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?" And now

I can report that among those who have met with @JoeBiden #VP co-chairs & currently being vetted are:

• Mayor @KeishaBottoms
• @RepValDemings
• @AmbassadorRice
• Sen. @KamalaHarris
• @GovWhitmer
• @StaceyAbrams
• Sen. @ewarren
• Sen. @AmyKlobuchar #JoeBiden

— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) June 4, 2020

And now, without journalistic education or training or contacts in Washington, I can reveal that Joe Biden is considering only five of those.

Governor Whitmer has governed with resolve and common sense amidst attacks by President Trump against her and her state. Elizabeth Warren, who arguably understands the world of business and finance- of capitalism- better than anyone in the United States Senate, would be wonderful a heartbeat from the presidency. And Amy Klobuchar is, well, from the swing state of Minnesota.

But none of this will mean anything unless Joe Biden is elected President. And Whitmer, Warren, and Klobuchar all lack what Bottoms, Demings, Rice, and Abrams (Harris, on one side) possess. That is African-American parentage.

In response to Ryan's tweet, one individual coming to the correct conclusion via invalid reasoning asserted "I strongly thought it should be a black woman before the murder of Floyd. Now it's a must.  America ,especially black America, needs and deserves this."

Black America needs an individual whom, if she became President, would work ending racial and economic injustice as no American President has since Lyndon B. Johnson. That does not necessitate a black vice-president or president, nor is it assured with a black President, as Barack Obama so plainly demonstrated.

However, African-Americans do deserve selection of someone black as vice-president, not as apology for racism or discrimination but as a show of gratitude.

After Joe Biden had continued his winless streak in presidential primaries and caucuses over more than three decades, insightful Democratic senatorial candidate of South Carolina Jaime Harrison warned "You can't be the nominee for the Democratic Party and you can't go to the White House without the African American vote. It is essential."

South Carolina's Jim Clyburn wholeheartedly endorsed Biden and the former vice-president smashed Bernie Sanders on Saturday, February 29  in S.C. Three days later, Biden- who had trailed Sanders in polls of most Super Tuesday states- won overwhelmingly, and the fat lady had sung.

That result three days after South Carolina was no coincidence and Eugene Robinson, reminding us that Hillary Clinton was in 2007 the favorite among black voters, noted 

When it became clear that Obama could win in an overwhelmingly white state such as Iowa, and thus might actually win a general election, black voters in South Carolina turned on a dime. Clyburn didn’t actually endorse Obama before the 2008 primary but left the distinct impression that he wanted to. Obama won that contest. We know the rest.

He added "The landslide those voters gave to Biden seemed to clarify things for black voters in the Super Tuesday states."

My guess? It clarified things also for a lot of white voters, who recognized that blacks constitute the popular base of the Democratic Party, and that their presidential nominee cannot win a general election without energizing that base, arguably long neglected in Democratic politics and inarguably in society.

If Biden is not a nincompoop- and he is not- he realizes this.  He probably understands further that the protests of the past week or two help a black candidate. Blacks appear better able to navigate this issue than whites, who would be unable to respond to Vice President Pence with "but from my experience...."  Nor would a white nominee be able to do this:

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ message to children who have questions about racism: “Keep loving each other. And when you see someone who’s doing something wrong or saying something wrong, say that it's wrong.” https://t.co/icV04F4FNW #CNNSesameStreet pic.twitter.com/Sz5LJq6VRc

— CNN (@CNN) June 6, 2020

Selecting a black female- Biden months ago stated that his running mate would be a woman- would at least somewhat increase turnout among blacks.  Additionally, the hundreds of thousands of whites joining blacks demanding an end to racial inequality in policing suggests that  it would increase turnout of young whites for the Democratic nominee.  That would be a win-win.

And, oh yes, this guy.

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