"Someone told me — it might have been you — that Harris is warm and funny in person. But she’s a lousy politician..."

"... and it showed when she flamed out of the Democratic primary before the Iowa caucus. Fixing the border is not mission impossible. It requires a mix of tough-minded security provisions of the sort past Democratic administrations were willing to put into place; ambitious legislative proposals to create broader avenues for legal immigration; a willingness to accept 'Remain in Mexico' as an interim policy provided we help the Mexican government ensure humane conditions for migrants; and long-term security and economic assistance for troubled Latin American states."

Said Bret Stephens to Gail Collins, in "Welcome to the ‘Well, Now What?’ Stage of the Story" (NYT).

Collins responds: "We could have an argument about some of your details, but it seems sort of silly to pick a fight over the administration’s position on Mexico when there doesn’t always seem to be one."

Silly? Why is that silly?! I'd say it's desperately serious, and it's ridiculous to allow the absence of a position to avoid the question whether it's possible to take a good position. 

Collins and Stephens do seem to agree that the Democrats need a 2024 candidate who is not Biden and not Harris. That is, Stephens excludes Biden and Harris, and Collins proceeds directly to sorting through the possible candidates. She names Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg. She says when she tried to remember the name Buttigieg, her brain served up the name Peter Bogdanovich. Stephens says his brain did a similar thing: He wanted to say Gina Raimondo, but his first grope for the name got him to Gina Lollobrigida.

 

There's some old-school politics for you.