James G. Zumwalt / July 31, 2020 

AND Magazine ... The Democratic vice presidential nominee sweepstakes will end in August. Meanwhile, presidential nominee Joe Biden has 38% of voters believing he suffers from dementia with 48% disagreeing and the remaining 14% unsure. 

This puts much more significance than usual upon whom gets the nod to be his running mate in November.

Whether suffering from dementia or not, Biden exercised wisdom – from the standpoint of benefitting personally but not in the best interests of the country – in announcing months ago he would select a female VP...and possibly a black female. 

At a time America is suffering so many challenges, why would any candidate place a diversity limit upon selecting a Vice President? Do we not want the most qualified, regardless of gender or race? 

The benefit to Joe Biden is that it took the wind out of the sails of numerous women accusing him of inappropriate sexual conduct, silencing female VP hopefuls. 

If Biden is still of sound mind, there are two candidates he may well choose to focus upon with an eye upon his own political survival beyond just the election itself.

A straw poll of those Biden is considering as running mates suggests four frontrunners. These include Stacy Abrams, Kamala Harris, Susan Rice, and Elizabeth Warren. Limiting our discussion to this list, let us examine each.

If ever there were someone running for the office of vice president and making no bones about it, Stacy Abrams is that person. A former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (2007-2017) and minority leader (2011-2017), Abrams became the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate there and the first black woman in the U.S. to be a major party’s nominee for governor. 

After losing to Republican Brian Kemp, she was unwilling to admit the election was fair. 

She has continuously raised the Hillary Clinton defense that the election was stolen from her, in her case due to voter suppression – a charge found to be without merit. 

But her claim gave her a sufficiently high profile to be selected, in February 2019, as the first African-American woman to deliver a response to the State of the Union Address. 

Well-spoken, Abrams, however, lacks sufficient experience to lead the nation in a role possibly propelling her to the top position in the event Biden is determined to be unsuited for office. Her long-time supporter Bernie Sanders should be of concern too, should she occupy the Oval Office. 

What Bernie could not achieve in the electoral process, he could well achieve in an Abrams’ Administration.

Kamala Harris is one who has not hesitated to use her personal assets to her own advantage. Her political career was largely launched from the bed of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown who suggested as much after Harris became a 2020 presidential candidate. 

He acknowledged, “Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was [California] Assembly speaker. And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco.” 

As district attorney, Harris demonstrated convictions were more important than defendants’ rights. 

On numerous occasions, she violated the Brady rule which mandated the prosecutor turn over any evidence exonerating a defendant upon request. The violations occurred between 2004-2010, leading to the dismissal of nearly one thousand cases and a scathing ruling by a Superior Court judge accusing her of same. 

Even a member of Biden’s Vice President review committee criticized Harris during her interview for refusing to apologize for using false information against Biden as the two opposed each other for president. 

Harris also is believed to have quietly planted negative stories about her VP rivals recently. 

Perhaps a further indicator of her confidence she will get the VP nod was her decision to undergo plastic surgery. Her facelift was botched; whether she has botched her VP selection remains to be seen.

Susan Rice, more so than any VP candidate, has a better comparative grasp of international affairs. 

Her service to several presidents includes time as a National Security Council member (1993-1997), an assistant Secretary of State for African affairs (1997-2001), U.N. ambassador (2009-2013), and National Security Advisor (2013-2017). 

She has served as a foreign policy advisor to presidential nominees Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, and Obama. She by far would bring the most experience to the table, but she also comes with her own baggage. 

As John Durham’s investigation into those responsible for the Deep State’s prosecution of Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and others stemming from the Russian hoax allegations unfolds, it is becoming clear Rice was an active participant. 

Additionally, her last official act on was to write herself a memo that clearly was motivated by one concern only – to clear her boss, Obama, of any wrongdoing. 

The memo repeated claims covering up what Obama had failed to do – ensure defendants’ rights to constitutional protections. The soon-to-be-announced results of the Durham investigation may put Rice on the prosecutor’s firing line.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) never allowed an untrue assertion to be wasted. 

Her claim of Native American heritage became a foundational block for her professional career, first as an Ivy School professor, and later as a basis for launching her political career. 

What she did was no different from what Rachel Dolezal did – falsely claiming black heritage for several years, not only to gain a teaching position but then to become the local NAACP president in Spokane, Washington. 

But, with the reality of running for the presidency, Warren realized she would finally have to provide more evidence than simply stating she had high cheekbones to prove her ancestry. When DNA results established she had no more Native American blood in her than many others could claim, she finally let the lie go. 

With Biden announcing he is focused on an African-American female candidate as his VP, there are only a few days left for Warren now to announce while incorrect about her Indian ancestry, her familial ancestors somehow were slaves. 

Biden will not select Warren as it endangers the black vote he desperately needs. If he is confident of a November victory with any of the remaining three, despite Harris being a popular choice, Biden may well choose Abrams for the simple reason most Americans would worry about having such an inexperienced captain at the helm. 

It would ensure Biden stays in office and not removed via the 25th Amendment should his mental state be an issue. 

But selecting Rice as perhaps the most qualified on foreign affairs could also preserve Biden’s position – for were she impeached for her role above, a nightmare situation would evolve. 

It would open the door for the Speaker of the House to become president – a position possibly still occupied by Nancy Pelosi. 

Biden should keep in mind anyone he selects from among the liberals’ “Final Four” dream team would not hesitate to purge him from office via the 25th Amendment should his mental stability become questionable. 

In William Shakespeare’s 1599 play “Julius Ceasar,” at the moment of his assassination, the dictator, recognizing among the assassins his friend, Marcus Brutus, disappointingly exclaimed, “Et tu, Brute?” 

Biden, regardless of which of the four candidates becomes VP, should not be surprised to see who may well be leading the 25th Amendment charge against him – unless he is suffering from dementia.