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It was always going to be Kamala. Having made history as the first black woman to be elected San Francisco’s District Attorney and California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris has made her

mark in the Senate since 2016, where she has earned the respect of Republicans as well as Democrats. She was the only woman of colour to have fought and won a series of elections at this

level. As such, she more or less picked herself as Joe Biden’s running mate. It remains an astonishing fact that she will be the first black female vice-presidential candidate in American

history. Above all, Senator Harris has a reputation for being tough on law and order — too tough for some Democrats, but not Joe Biden. As the presidential candidate for a party that is seen

by many voters as soft on crime, he knows that it is crucial that he protect this vulnerable flank. After the riots that followed the killing of George Floyd, sales of guns rose sharply

across the United States — a land where fear of violence and disorder lies just below the surface. Donald Trump would have hammered Biden for his support for Black Lives Matter if he had not

moved to neutralise this line of attack.   As it is, the President has immediately opened another front, with his trademark use of playground insults. “Sleepy Joe” is portrayed as a

“transitional” candidate, paving the way for “Phony Kamala”, who is depicted as hailing from the “radical Left”. Trump’s attack ads combine these themes by suggesting that, when they

cottoned onto her hard-Left policies, “voters rejected Harris. They smartly spotted a phony. But not Joe Biden. He’s not that smart.” The Trump campaign will relentlessly reiterate the theme

that Biden is weak and senile, Harris devious and extreme. Whether this message will hit home depends on how disciplined the Democrats prove themselves to be. During the primaries, Senator

Harris landed a blow on Biden that nearly knocked him out of the race, pointing out his opposition to “busing”, a key policy on racial integration in the 1970s, at a time when he was still

backing segregationist colleagues. Biden floundered when confronted with his own words by a woman who had herself been bused as a child growing up in California. Her onslaught hurt Biden’s

feelings as well as his popularity. There is no love lost between them. What about their policies? Senator Harris’s positions are mainstream for California, but well to the left of most

states. She will seek to align herself with Biden ’ s more moderate politics, but this will hardly convicince those who suspect her of being a radical wolf in a centrist sheep’s clothing. If

Trump can drive a wedge between the two Democrats, he may succeed in damaging both. So far the polls suggest that Biden is comfortably ahead of Trump. The challenger will probably get a

boost from next week’s Democratic Convention and is the clear favourite to win in November. Gaining a majority in the electoral college, however, is not the same as winning the popular vote.

Hillary Clinton lost because she piled up votes in the “wrong” states.   Biden’s greatest strength as also his greatest weakness. He defeated the other Democrat hopefuls by offering

familiarity and security, experience and reassurance. His has been one of the longest political careers at the top in American history, serving 36 years as Senator for Delaware, followed by

eight as Vice President. Most Americans cannot remember a time when Biden wasn’t a name in a country where name recognition is vital. That name, however, is also part of the problem. The

quintessential Washington insider, he is seen by those who feel excluded as a status quo candidate.   At 77, Biden is also by far the oldest man to run for President. His notorious gaffes,

his visible confusion under pressure and his lapses of memory have raised a question about his mental fitness for office. Trump, too, is a septuagenarian, of course. During the coming three

presidential TV debates, both candidates will come under close scrutiny. The difference is that Biden only has to score a draw; Trump needs to win decisively to narrow the race. Kamala

Harris, too, will be mercilessly dissected, not only by her opponents but by the media. She has an enviable conviction rate as a prosecutor, is highly intelligent (“a quick study”, as one

Republican senator conceded) and quite capable of outwitting her counterpart, Vice President Mike Pence, in their debates. The question that hangs over her is different: is she likeable?

Lacking Biden’s folksy charm, Senator Harris needs to demonstrate that she has a human side. This was the achievement of the last smart black lawyer to get to the top of US politics: Barack

Obama. Although Senator Harris is not running for President this time, everyone knows that if Biden wins, she is more than likely to inherit the White House from him. Kamala Harris now has a

chance to make history on a grander stage than ever before. If she is indeed a phony, as her opponents claim, she will be found out. If not, then it is hard to see what will stop a future

President Harris taking office, perhaps even sooner than in 2024.