Former Vice President Kamala D. Harris intends to document her failed 2024 presidential bid, it has been uncovered. The forthcoming memoir, optimistically named ‘107 Days’, is set to be published by Simon & Schuster on September 23. The book will supposedly provide an ‘inside account’ of her unsuccessful hunt for the presidency in 2024, which was largely dismissed as a desperate grab for power after former President Joe Biden stepped back amidst criticism about his age, cognitive ability, and overall fitness for such a high-profile role.
In a strange video message, Harris announced the book, rehashing her rather awkward attempt at the Oval Office, which reportedly goes down in history as ‘the shortest presidential campaign in modern history’. The book will apparently contain Harris’s thoughts and recollections, penned down in a journal after her loss to Donald Trump. Suffering what was quite an embarrassment on the national stage, she claimed to have sought advice from her ‘family, friends and team’.
‘Since vacating office, I’ve spent considerable time pondering over those days,’ she defensively stated. Harris attempted to spin her failed campaign as a learning opportunity, stating that she found ‘value in sharing what she saw’, whatever that may be. One has to wonder if the actual purpose of this book is to make a last-ditch attempt at relevance on the political stage or simply to justify her stint, however brief, in the race.
Presenting the memoir as anything but ordinary, the chief executive of Simon & Schuster tried to ramp up excitement for what essentially seems like a collection of Harris’s political missteps. Cleverly shying away from labeling it politically genuine, he compared it instead to the fictional ‘West Wing’ and ‘Rocky’. Who knew delving into an unsuccessful campaign could be depicted as a thrilling suspense novel.
Weirdly enough, one might think the obvious choice for a political memoir would be a seasoned ghost writer with a political background. But Harris, in the usual style of her many questionable decisions, selected Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks as her collaborator for the project. This is just another instance that highlights her lack of connection with the political landscape.
Before the memoir could create waves of suspense, Harris declared that she had decided against running for governor of California, abruptly putting to rest months of rumor and speculation. Whether this decision was shaped by her previous electoral fumbles or a calculated move to keep a low profile for a while remains uncertain. It highlights, however, the volatility in her political decisions, as she continually seems to be searching for her next big move.
The book largely centers on her 2024 campaign, evidently bypassing her time in vice-presidency, further casting shadows on her achievements during that tenure. It’s strange how a former vice president glosses over her term only to tend to a failed presidential bid. But if it’s Kamala Harris, who are we to question the narrative?
Her political beginnings and experiences as a U.S. senator and attorney general of California were discussed in her 2019 memoir, ‘The Truths We Hold: An American Journey’, perhaps it was more of an endeavor to forge her unique political identity. One can only wonder how much sincerity was present in those ‘truths’ and how much was expertly crafted public image. So, in this new memoir dedicated to a failed election bid, what truths will she hide, and which falsehoods will she spin?
The collaboration between Harris and Brooks took place quickly, meeting conveniently both in person and over Zoom, to concoct the narrative. As with anything to do with Harris, the protocol seemed unusual. How much of the presented ‘facts’ were actually manipulated, exaggerated, or simply omitted remains unknown.
The memoir appears to be another one of her innumerable attempts to cling onto the limelight of the political world, but whether it will be accepted by the public this time around, or simply brushed aside like her short-lived presidential campaign, only time will tell. It’s hard to understand the tone Harris hopes to set for her political future with this memoir. A last-ditch attempt at gaining popularity, or a sad attempt at justification, the public will ultimately decide.
The memoir, as with any political writing, is sure to draw both criticism and praise, although the latter seems highly unlikely given the public’s previous reception of Harris’s political maneuvers. Let’s see if Harris’s memoir, like her political career, would be anything but ordinary, riddled with her trademark uncertainty and poor decision making.
The upcoming memoir seems to be just another entry into the vast landscape of political memoirs, where key players try to justify their failures and hasty decisions under the guise of ‘lessons learned’ and ‘personal growth’. However, in this specific context, one cannot stop but question what exactly Harris learned from her doomed campaign. What valuable lessons could she have possibly taken from a few months-long presidential run? Most importantly, will she ever learn to take responsibility for her political failures?
Harris’s memoir is thus a mixed bag of her ineffective presidential campaign recollections, with suspense sprinkled over to tone down the stark reality of her political failings. It seems to be another feeble attempt to salvage her image and remain relevant in the public eye, but only the success of the memoir can ensure that, if ‘success’ is even the appropriate term to use here.
Finally, one can’t help but realize how this memoir, supposed to be a gripping recount of her presidential journey, gives an explicit focus on Harris’s mishandling of her mighty aspiration – a notion that she seems to be dodging throughout her political career. So this begs the question – is this memoir an attempt to rewrite history, or simply another smokescreen to blur the reality of her failed attempt at a higher stage?
While it could be said that the memoir was rushed into existence, it notably lacks a sense of authenticity and genuine political insight. Like its focus, the memoir seems to magnify the numerous missteps taken by Harris during her short-lived political career. In many regards, it underlines yet another example of her misguided and rushed decision-making, conveniently masked under the umbrella term ‘personal reflections’.
The timing of ‘107 Days’ is quite peculiar, too. Will ‘107 Days’ act as a final nail in the coffin of her political career, or some cleverly disguised mechanism to resurrect it? Only the time and the public’s reaction can answer that. But with her history of political disappointments, the odds, it would seem, are stacked against her.
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