OPINION:
As we grow older, we tend to remember sayings we heard as children. Those sayings generally seem more relevant with the passage of time, likely because they are so often the product of generations of experience and are steadily echoed by experiences in our own lives.
I spent my early years in Paris. Consequently, the childhood adages that come to my mind these days are French, frequently the product of my grandmother’s solid instincts and succinct and wise words. In recent days, two such sayings have been reverberating in my head. The first is made up of four words: “Tout nouveau, tout beau.” (“All new, all beautiful,” a couplet that rhymes in French.)
That saying seems particularly relevant as Vice President Kamala Harris has coasted to the Democratic nomination for president in the wake of President Biden’s exit from the race.
For the past several weeks, since Mr. Biden announced that he would not seek reelection, the press has been fawning over the vice president. She has taken on the aspects of a new toy, newly discovered and consequently highly valued. The attraction appears, in large part, to be because she is not the old and failing Mr. Biden and projects the vigor he sorely lacks. As with many newfound objects, the glow emanating from Ms. Harris is so bright that everything else seems faded and is, at least momentarily, virtually invisible.
In the enthusiasm generated by Mr. Biden’s departure, we are witness to a hagiographic presentation of the newly minted Ms. Harris. As in every hagiography, the image is essentially two-dimensional. The candidate is described as accomplished, brilliant, destined for greatness and almost saintly. No flaws are apparent (or, more precisely, they are carefully glossed over). All that is missing is the crown to consummate the coronation.
But there are warning signs that the blinding light emanating from Ms. Harris’ candidacy may rapidly fade. I am alerted to those signs by a second French saying of my childhood.
Whenever I would become enamored of a new item, usually a toy, my grandmother would invariably utter the admonition “Tout passe, tout casse, tout lasse.” (“Everything passes, everything breaks, everything bores,” a phrase that also has the added virtue of rhyming in French.) This saying served as a constructive warning that too much attention to any new object could end in disappointment or worse.
The advice embodied in the saying seems particularly pertinent today, as we contemplate the swooning mainstream press’s love affair with the Democratic nominee. Too deep an attraction to the new arrival might lead to great disappointment or worse, suggesting that moderation might be advisable.
In the case of Ms. Harris, the warning signs of an early diminution in the current level of enthusiasm are evident, as we are reminded of her policy contradictions, her reluctance to take questions from reporters, her vacuous statements and her word salads. The signs that she may break under the scrutiny of a national run for office and that the voters may tire of her are already visible. Beneath the glow of the shiny new object are the components of which my grandmother warned me when I was a child.
The first component of this likely change is the pivot from image to substance. Up until now, the packaging of the new object has drawn the most attention, just as the box in which any new toy I received served as the initial focus of my attention. I remember often being more enamored with the packaging than with the toy itself, which could rapidly become less appealing once it had emerged from its packaging.
When the new object was safely ensconced in my hands, I usually had to wrestle with what to do with it. Sometimes, I had to put it together, a process that was not always successful and sometimes, when assembled, the item did not do what it was supposed to do or what I had hoped that it would do. This was an almost immediate source of disappointment.
In other cases, the object would function precisely as intended and, interestingly, this could be the source of unhappiness. Although attractive and seemingly tantalizing when first in my hands, the new toy would often become rather uninteresting. Not infrequently, the object would break with use and have to be discarded.
Yes, there were toys that lived up to expectations. But they were rare and usually required a period of adjustment and familiarity.
My grandmother’s age-old saying, augmented by her admonition, albeit not the product of detailed study nor constituting a precise warning, does provide a rather profound reminder. What appears to be so attractive when first perceived may rapidly seem otherwise upon closer scrutiny.
Kamala Harris is the new toy. She presents well and seems exciting. But once the newness wears off and the American public is called upon to review the substance of this relatively new personality, namely her true ideology and policy priorities, will the attractive and seductive exterior survive scrutiny? My grandmother’s wise sayings lead me to doubt it.
• Gerard Leval is a partner in the Washington office of a national law firm. He is the author of “Lobbying for Equality: Jacques Godard and the Struggle for Jewish Civil Rights During the French Revolution,” published by HUC Press.
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