Dear Vice President Harris,
You recently said you were trying to schedule your first major interview for late this month.
Here is a modest proposal:
Let it be with me.
I promise to treat you fairly, which is an old-fashioned concept in journalism.
Yes, I know my request is the ultimate long shot — some might even call it an indecent proposal.
They’ll say you have your choice among all the major friendly media outlets that are competing for the first big scoop since you entered the presidential race, so why give it to an opinion columnist at the New York Post?
After all, the big guys, especially the networks, are probably promising to make you look fabulous — politically and personally.
They’ll bring professional makeup artists, hairstylists and the most flattering lighting and backdrop that money can buy.
With me, you won’t need any of that.
You could wear jeans and sneakers.
Need tough questions
My competitors are probably also boasting about big audiences and how their demographics skew left in an aim to make you comfortable.
The implicit vow is that their questions wouldn’t be too tough.
The last thing these fanboys and -girls want is for you to get tangled up in your answers or throw shade on something you and President Biden supported together.
The really desperate outlets will even promise to take certain topics off the table, lest their questions and your answers be unflattering.
After all, they’re not there to hurt you.
They are there to help you beat Donald Trump.
They’re part of the team, which helps explain why they haven’t complained as you’ve shunned them since Biden was strong-armed out of the race.
I’m not on your team.
My only promise is candor, fairness and respect that befits the office you seek.
Although I am a registered Democrat, I’m not that kind of Democrat.
I vote like an independent and backed Barack Obama twice in 2008, once in the primaries against Hillary Clinton and once in the general against John McCain.
In the three presidential races since, I voted for Mitt Romney and twice for Trump.
I’ve also voted for both Dems and Republicans in New York, including Mayor Eric Adams in both his primary and the general.
I enthusiastically back my congressman, Rep. Ritchie Torres, a rising star in the Dem firmament.
My bipartisan history would be to your advantage.
You’ve got to appeal not just to your progressive base, but also to moderate Republicans and conservative-leaning independents.
Having George Stephanopoulos or Anderson Cooper slobber all over you won’t bring you new voters.
No softballs
After our interview, all voters will know that it was a legitimate session and that you got tough questions, not softballs.
And you were given a fair chance to explain and defend your answers.
In fact, I’m happy to tell you now what the top questions will be when we meet.
First, the economy.
Biden tried selling Bidenomics as a success story, but gave up when there were no buyers.
For months, his average approval on the economy hovered around 32%, a political death sentence long before the debate debacle.
You said recently that “building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency” and pledged to take on “price gouging.”
You get big applause for those lines, but I’ve yet to hear details.
So here’s my question: What specifically will you do with the economy and inflation that’s different from what you and Biden did?
And if you make no changes, how can you expect better results?
You’ll need to be clear because, as it stands, far more Americans say they were better off under the Trump economy.
One survey found that 43% said they were better off under Trump, while only 16% said the same of the Biden-Harris years.
Just Tuesday, Biden, asked about you, said “the issues we’ve worked on together have made big progress economically,” suggesting he doesn’t see a need for major changes.
Do you agree with him?
Question No. 2 will be about the southern border.
Last week in Arizona, you promised to fight for “strong border security” and added that “we know our immigration system is broken and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform. That includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.”
The problem with the promise is that you and Biden intentionally dismantled the tough system Trump established, and let in upwards of 12 million illegal migrants, including many on terror watchlists.
The bipartisan legislation you tout was not adequate and was defeated in both houses of Congress, so it’s not an answer.
And please don’t deny that you were the “border czar” because there’s no question you were the administration’s point person on immigration.
Indeed, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday there is “no daylight” between you and Biden on border policy.
Moreover, your plan for a “pathway to citizenship” sounds like an invitation for more people to come illegally and a promise they will be legalized.
Is that your plan?
Please be specific about how you would change what you and Biden did, including with executive orders.
Tough on crime?
My third question is about the crime wave engulfing American cities, some of it driven in New York and elsewhere by migrants.
You now call yourself a tough former prosecutor in California, but many experts see you as among the first progressives of the defund-the-police movement.
Do you understand the vast majority of Americans believe the “reforms” of criminal justice, however well-intended, went way too far and are driving law-abiding families and businesses away from urban areas?
What would you do to make America safer?
Question No. 4 will be about foreign policy and, specifically, Israel.
Biden has waxed hot and cold, but you are widely regarded as even more hostile to the Jewish state.
Examples include your readiness to accept false death statistics issued by Gaza officials controlled by Hamas.
And your skipping of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was widely viewed as an insult to him and Israel.
Can there be a viable two-state plan that does not include a guaranty of Israel’s security?
When you say Israel has the right to defend itself, do you mean it has no right to eliminate Hamas, which has pledged to repeat the horrors of Oct. 7 again and again?
And what about Iran, which finances and directs Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis?
Would you reinstate the tough oil sanctions Trump imposed, but you and Biden removed?
I realize that all politicians want a fawning press, but you are getting too much of a good thing.
In the last month, you’ve had more than a lifetime’s worth of bended-knee adulation.
Biden had the same deal, until suddenly he looked beatable and was promptly thrown overboard.
Let’s talk and maybe you can avoid repeating his fatal mistakes.