Is “Prepared” the New “Articulate?”

Why Can’t They Say Kamala Harris is Qualified?

William Spivey
Momentum
Published in
4 min readSep 12, 2024

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File:Kamala Harris (48626510571).jpg — Wikimedia Commons

On January 31, 2007, Senator Joe Biden, then a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in the 2008 election, said this about fellow candidate Senator Barack Obama.

“I mean, you got the first sort of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” — Joe Biden

When called out on his comment, Biden explained, “This is a guy who’s come along in a way that’s captured the imagination of the country in a way that no one else has. That was the point of everything I was saying.”

Barack Obama responded to Biden’s comments:

“I didn’t take Sen. Biden’s comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them…

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Momentum
Momentum

Published in Momentum

Momentum is a blog that captures and reflects the moment we find ourselves in, one where rampant anti-Black racism is leading to violence, trauma, protest, reflection, sorrow, and more. Momentum doesn’t look away when the news cycle shifts.

William Spivey
William Spivey

Written by William Spivey

I write about politics, history, education, and race. Follow me at williamfspivey.com and support me at https://ko-fi.com/williamfspivey0680

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