Sunday School 8/23/20: Extra Credit

As promised in our Sunday School post, here are highlights of the interviews with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, done by ABC's David Muir and Robin Roberts. 

We'll tackle Muir's part first, and right off the bat he asked Biden how it felt to finally be the nominee. Biden mentioned his "overwhelming sense of obligation to get this right" because there's so much at stake.   That led to several questions on the COVID-19 pandemic, summarized below. . 

• Biden blames Trump for "walking away and not dealing with the solutions" and for not listening to the scientists. Biden will - including shutting down the country again if that's what they recommend. 
• Harris said that "communities most in need" should get the vaccine first, when we have one, and they both say we need a plan for getting the vaccine out, and need to be working on that plan now, not later.
• Biden's not concerned about a vaccine being announced before the election; he said, "I would hope that they’d be able to have the vaccine" and while he's been told it's unlikely, "if, God willing, it happened, it’d be wonderful." Picture Trump saying that... 
• He said that when we do get a vaccine, we need transparency to that people will know it's scientists driving it, not politics,  so that people can trust that it's safe. 

Here're a few more responses; I want to leave room for the other half of the interview.

• They'll raise taxes on people making over $400K, and on corporations, because it's time they paid their fare share, that it's  not about "punishing anybody." 
• It is fair to ask a person over 70 if they're fit and ready for the office, he said, and had this message for Trump: "watch me, Mr. president. Watch me."
• Harris was comfortable signing on as  VP choice, pointing to a number of policies that are "about translating the pain we collectively should feel as a country" and turning that pain into action on multiple fronts, including the Green New Deal - and that setting goals and timelines would be priorities there, along with a million new jobs.

There was  more, but the last question was how Biden would bring people together. In a nutshell? Telling the truth, taking responsibility, and actually inviting the opposition to come and settle problems together.

Roberts started with questions on why Harris was picked, and what she brought to the table.

• Biden said Harris will be ready on day one, that he "knows she won't be intimated by the Oval Office," and that she'll be comfortable sharing her perspective, which often will be different from his.
• Biden "did not feel pressure" to select a black woman; "the government should look like the people, look like the country." Among the 'well-qualified' choices, Harris was the best fit.
• Harris said "I want Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States... I believe in his perspective, and frankly I think that conversation is a distraction from what we need to accomplish right now."
• Biden noted "an inherently greater burden on women seeking the presidency than on men." and "an inherent sexism that just pervades our politics" when it comes to women speaking strongly.  He also said he doesn't hold grudges. 
• On the "you ain't black" comment, Harris says she knows what's in Biden's heart and recognizes his "deep sense of awareness and knowledge about racial disparities, inequities and systematic racism," and says there's no comparison between Biden and Trump in that regard. Biden says he shouldn't have said it, and he "wouldn't be here" without African-American support. 

There was a long list of things that that would happen if they were elected, including having an administration that resembles America, changes to the criminal justice system, changes to how federal funds are allocated to minority-owned businesses, and more, geared towards allowing people to "build into wealth" and pass it down. 

Harris says the Black Lives Matter movement has helped change the status quo, and that we need policies on chokeholds, the DOJ to lead 'pattern and practice' investigations, decriminalizing marijuana, having a centralized database for tracking police officer discipline, and so on. 

They DO NOT support defunding the police; Biden says, the police "need to have the kind of help that in fact allows them to deal with" all of the varied circumstances they face, and added

look, there are unethical senators, there are unethical presidents, there are unethical doctors, unethical lawyers, unethical prosecutors, there are unethical cops. They should be rooted out. The vast majority of the police, they're ashamed of what they saw...We have to make it clear that this is about protecting neighborhoods, protecting people, everybody across the board. 

Finally, on what they want people to take away from the interview, Harris said

We see them. We see them. We see, we see that father and mother who are sitting at their kitchen table after the kids go to bed and they're wondering how they're going to pay the rent in September. We see the one in five mothers in America who right now is describing her children under the age of 12 as being hungry. We see those families who have a loved one who is suffering from cancer, or COVID, and deserve to have all the support that gives them dignity and the care they need and the support they need.

Want to learn more?  Here's a link to the 'vision' section of the campaign website.