Lance Neita | Putting smile back on United States’ face

In recent years, the public face of United States has been portrayed by the dour expressions and serious drop-jaw countenances of leaders weighted down by political rivalries, ageing challenges, election primaries, and democracy under threat.

In one of the swiftest turnarounds in leadership fortunes, the gloom and doom of the American face has been replaced by the effervescence, energy, excitement, and cheerful optimism of the rejuvenated Democratic party campaign led by Kamala Harris.

The announcement of her nomination on that Sunday afternoon, July 21, came out of nowhere and took the world by surprise. Biden’s exit from the presidential race was not totally unexpected, but his immediate endorsement of his vice-president certainly was.

The normal procedure would have been an address to the nation, the withdrawal from the race, and a pause for the country to catch its breath while pondering a path forward for a delegate majority vote to replace him. Prior to this, there had been no hint of a succession plan outside of the constitutional stipulation that the vice president assumes the office of president in case of a resignation or whatever emergency.

In such a case, Harris would have had to vie for the presidential nomination with other Democrat contenders interested in the post.

What happened that Sunday was history and drama. Not only was the president and virtual party leader stepping aside, but he was appointing his heir to the throne without leaving any room for conjecture, candidate jostling, or legal wranglings.

The analysts say Harris had not stamped herself as presidential material during her incumbency as vice president. At first, she had been kept out of the limelight as Biden seemed to have sentenced her to the traditional non-executive role of vice presidents. The history of the White House shows presidents downplaying the office of their vice presidents, especially where the holder had been a contender for the nomination during the run-up to the election.

HIGHER APPEAL

As time evolved, however, Harris gained a higher appeal, with more responsibility for national and international projects allotted to her portfolio, and a track record of successful accomplishments in her executive capacities.

With the vice president now suddenly thrust into the limelight, the party had little time to absorb, assess, gulp, recover, and conceptualise what this would do to the poll standings.

They didn’t have time to do much thinking. To Biden’s and her own eternal credit, Harris stepped into the gap in a matter of seconds, assumed the stature of her new position with seamless alacrity and stepped on stage with a confident smile, an eagerness to get down to the task, and as Bill Clinton described, a breath of fresh air for a struggling party.

Kamala Harris has put the smile back on the face of America. For reasons of her own, much is said about her Indian ancestry and less about her Jamaican identity. But the warmth and ebullience we see is nothing short of the Jamaican welcome given at any door whether at Beverly Hills in Kingston or at the doorstep of a poor man’s home in deep- rural Jamaica.

Her smile say,s come in, wipe yuh foot, take a seat, and have a glass of soursop drink, some roast breadfruit, and a mango to take with you for Miss Abbie.

I have struggled with the reticence over mentioning Jamaica on equal par with her Indian heritage. Yet she is still close to her father and her Jamaican family in Brown’s Town and Jamaica is proud of her and loves and respects her for the way in which she has taken up the mantle of leadership at a time when the US and the world need it most.

Said Oprah Winfrey at the convention. “Soon and very soon, we’re going to be teaching our daughters and sons about how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father grew up to become the 47th president of the United States.”

And like countless Jamaicans around the world, when I heard that reference to Jamaica, and heard it from Harris herself during her acceptance speech when she recalled pleasant childhood memories with her father, I stood up and cheered “Yeees!” That is when it came home to me how awesome this is going to be for Jamaica. If she wins.

CANNOT ASK MUCH

We cannot expect or ask much from a President Harris (even the name sounds Jamaican) in terms of most-favoured nation. The world that she will face is too contentious and issues too numerous for her to show any kind of preferential treatment to any nation based on heritage or familial ties.

What we will need to do is to stop tarnishing our reputation, and hers, with the hell-bent advance of criminal behaviour, gang culture, crudeness, and vulgarities that are threatening to displace the national symbols of Jamaica. We must not let her down.

My own Christian faith tells me that the Lord has intervened to rescue America from the doom and gloom hitherto portrayed by the face of the darker side of America. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

This applies to us as much as it does to the United States. We must pray as we can, but the work is left up to America and Harris. Following the convention, she has some 75 days to stamp herself as a commander- in-chief of the world’s most powerful military, the world’s strongest economy, the world’s leading democracy, and the world’s second- fastest athlete.

Themes of freedom and joy ran through the Democratic Convention August 20-23. Mr Trump’s oversized coat, drop-down tie, and long face is a continual contrast. Somebody said he should be advised to smile more often. He doesn’t have to look far. Harris has already put back the smile on United States’ face.

Lance Neita is a public relations professional and an author. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and lanceneita@hotmail.com