The sweeping political changes now taking place in America is very palpable. These are unprecedented times. By definition and scope, this American political spring may just offer up, for the first time, a female president in the form of Kamala Harris.

Over the past few years, the US political landscape has witnessed myriad party-political turmoil: from the attack on January 6, 2021 on the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, by supporters of then US President Donald Trump to his legal battles and criminal conviction; the attempted assassination on his life; the court cases involving Hunter Biden, the son of the current president; and weeks of delay in choosing the House Speaker. Along with these problems, there has also been a constant call from Republicans, and lately Democrats, for President Joe Biden not to seek a second term because of his age and suspected health issues, but mainly because of his poor performance in the first electoral debate against Trump.

Interestingly, in separate interviews,
ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and
NBC’s Lester Holt, President Biden affirmed that only the “Lord God Almighty” could convince him to get out of the November 2024 election race. Perhaps, though, the guardian spirits of the old adage which warns us to ‘be careful about what we wish for’ were listening to those prime time interviews, because without warning, in less than two weeks after that seemingly blasphemous declaration, President Biden, on July 21, 2024, formally announced in a letter through social media platform
X that, “I believe it is the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.” This decision by the president not to contest the upcoming election has now opened the way for Vice-President Harris to potentially become the first female president of the United States of America.

This new American political spring brings a number of uncertainties, contemplations, and hope. In fact, the “stolen election” rhetoric which has become a staple in the Republican narrative continues unabatedly. Actually, journalist Sarah Longwell of
The Atlantic Daily recently reported that Trump, along with 68 per cent of Republicans, believe (still) that the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen from his party. This begs the question of what may happen if the votes of the Electoral College are once again inclined towards the Democrats.

Reflectively, in the political subconscious mind of the body politic of many Democrats, especially women, a win for Vice-President Harris would be a win of poetic justice for them. Ironically, they too believed that the election was stolen from Hillary Clinton, given the fact that she won the popular votes in the 2016 Presidential Election.

However, there is much hope and optimism in this new American political spring. Importantly, a win for the Democrats will be a continuity of purpose of much of President Biden’s economic policies of growth for the middle class and a subsequent increase in certain benefits for blue-collar workers. It would also mean further infrastructural developments and even greater expenditure on environmental issues and problems of climate change. Conceivably, there will be a strengthening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and further negotiations with Europeans and Middle East warring factions, respectively, to end the conflicts in these regions. In contrast to these, many political analysts argue that a win for Trump would bring more political chaos, retribution, and an implementation of Project 2025.

Perhaps most importantly, the new wind that is blowing in the American spring will bring with it a new political dawn; one that sees a United States of America being governed by a female president of East Indian and Afro-Jamaican descent. This presidency may just be what the United States needs right now. After all, women leaders have been known to have a calming effect on the sometimes-unbridled political atmosphere of their countries. Moreover, there has been a shifting of the race, genotype, and gender of many political leaders over the past few years in several countries, including the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, Vice-President Harris’s election as the Democratic Party’s candidate to go up against Trump in the November 2024 Presidential Election came out of necessity and political expediency. It is, indeed, a sound legal and politically strategic decision. It is also a resolve which satisfies the political sensibilities of some of those who hunger for leadership and power in a political republic overwhelmed by the urgency of now.

Indeed, this decision also aptly echoes the timeless words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr: “I have a dream that one day… little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers…”

normandellacollins@yahoo.com