Keller: Kamala Harris presidential candidacy puts spotlight on gender and politics
BOSTON - Former First Lady Michelle Obama was trolling Donald Trump on night two of the Democratic National Convention with a reference to his contention that migrants are taking away "Black jobs."
"Who's gonna tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?" she said.
Do Black women have equal opportunity?
The crowd roared, but her quip raises a question: We know that a Black man can be elected president. But does a Black woman have an equal opportunity?
"Black women and women of color, especially, face additional barriers when seeking executive office," said analyst Amanda Hunter of Gender on the Ballot, a think tank at American University focusing on gender dynamics in politics. She said Kamala Harris must clear some unique hurdles.
"Economic credentialing is challenging. Voters generally need a lot more evidence that women are qualified," she said. "Black women have to do more to prove that they have experience managing budgets."
We've come a long way since 1972, when Shirley Chisholm of New York, the first Black woman ever elected to Congress, became the nation's first Black candidate for president. But Hunter said in the face of Trump's attacks on her, Harris must still prove credentials that are taken for granted of white male candidates.
Men can tell, women must show
"We did research on electability and all of the hypothetical women candidates that we tested on both sides of the aisle from various racial backgrounds - all won or tied a ballot with a straight white man," said Hunter "So it seems that people do believe that women are electable, but we know that in our research, we find that men can tell and women have to show."
Meanwhile, the attacks on Harris's intelligence and competence keep coming. "Unfortunately, we know what comes next," said Michelle Obama in her speech. "We know folks are gonna do everything they can to distort her truth."
Actually, it's already happening.
Remember the flurry of Republicans calling Harris a "DEI hire" (diversity, equity and inclusion) when Joe Biden withdrew and endorsed her? A recent UMass/Amherst national poll found 41% of those surveyed agreed with that slur, and another 24% weren't sure.
So beside presenting her credentials and making her case, what can Harris do to overcome those stereotypes?
Hunter noted how Harris is framing her candidacy in terms of what she can do for people and comparing it with Trump's agenda. She's not marketing herself as a breakthrough or history-making candidate.
Surrogates can whip up the base by doing that for her.