Joe Biden’s campaign for nomination for the presidency was all but finished. But thanks to South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, Biden can now claim the senior citizen version of “The Comeback Kid.” After Biden’s strong Clyburn-inspired South Carolina victory, his climb to the Democratic nomination was inexorable.

Regarding naming a running mate, conventional wisdom is that the right choice won’t make much difference—it’s really about the top of the ticket—but the wrong choice can hurt you. But this time, given Biden’s age and the possibility of his serving only one term, and the nation’s multiple problems, the choice for Vice President is more consequential than usual.

Anybody paying attention knew that this Democratic ticket could not have two white men heading it. It had to be a woman, a person of color, or some combination thereof. Biden had the luxury of choosing from a well-qualified field with these characteristics.

Early on, Biden narrowed the field, announcing that it would be a woman, a smart move that should have surprised nobody.

Elizabeth Warren was favored by many Democrats as representing the more progressive wing of the party. That was seen as a disadvantage by others. Another possible disadvantage was being a septuagenarian, too close to Biden’s age.

Michigan Governor Whitman has executive experience and a credible record of dealing with COVID-19 issues. She enjoys popularity in a key battleground state.

The soft-spoken but effective Senator Tammy Baldwin enjoys popularity in our own battleground state of Wisconsin.

The other white woman with a high national profile included Minnesota’s Senator Klobuchar. Surprisingly, the media had given Klobuchar a great deal of air time—surprising, because we’re accustomed to the East Coast media habitually dismissing the Midwest as “flyover country.”

I’ll confess that the Midwest farm boy in me appreciates, in addition to their political philosophy, the low-key styles of Baldwin and Klobuchar. Included with her Eastern European ancestry, Klobuchar even has some Swiss ancestry, although not needed to get my approval.

Biden tipped his hand when he stated that having experience on the debate stage would be a real advantage. That would point to Warren and Klobuchar among the white women and to Harris among the women of color.

Klobuchar proved her astuteness by withdrawing her name from contention for the VP slot, just as she had done earlier in the campaign for the top spot. She was smart enough, and prescient enough, to know that, regardless of her qualifications and experience, the chances that Biden would choose her were slim and none. The right thing, the smart thing, and surely the politically astute thing, was to get ahead of the game, withdraw her name, and recommend that a woman of color be selected. Klobuchar is no dummy, and she proves it time and again. Keep your eye on her.

Among the women of color, New Mexico Governor Lujan-Grisham has executive experience, popularity, and has done a credible job with COVID-19.

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is an Asian-American combat veteran, severely wounded in combat.

African-American possibilities included Stacey Abrams who made a strong run for Governor of Georgia. Were it not for ruthless, successful voter suppression, she likely would have won.

Florida Congresswoman Val Demings is a former police chief of Orlando. Congresswoman Karen Bass is former Speaker of the California Assembly—a major accomplishment, and with a reputation of working across party lines.

Atlanta’s impressive Mayor Lance Bottoms has done a credible job of dealing with COVID-19 and racial strife.

Susan Rice has valuable foreign policy experience and is tough as nails. However, she would be a lightning rod and never has run for office. Best to save her for later.

Then there is the high profile Kamala Harris, female, African-American and Asian-American, with proven executive experience—the California Dept. of Justice is second in size only to the US Department of Justice—a proven vote getter, a solid record of accomplishment, and experience on the national stage, all rolled into one. From early on, many observers viewed a combination of Biden and Harris as a logical, even probable, choice. Overlooking that a president requires a VP who will challenge him when necessary—as opposed to the fawning sycophancy of Pence—media types couldn’t resist playing over and over, ad nausea, a spirited exchange between Harris and Biden during one of the debates.

Media clones make their livings by creating or exaggerating conflict. The Democratic debates in which participants treated each other with respect in no way resembled the Republican circus of 2016 in which Trump trashed his dumbfounded competitors that the media half-wits, with remarkable flexibility of the English language, labeled “a strong field.” If there were anyone resembling a “strong candidate” in that hapless crew, it was the sensible John Kasich who has no place in today’s Trump/McConnell Republican Party.

Much has been made of African-American women being key drivers and supporters of the Democratic Party. Prominent Democratic spokespersons all promised to vigorously support whomever Biden would name as his VP running mate. Even Biden’s savior, Congressman Clyburn, stated that although it would be a “plus,” it was not a “must” that Biden select an African-American woman.

However, if not a Black woman, there would have been resentment, openly expressed, or burning beneath the surface. Biden would have been dogged with the question, “why not?” forcing him to spend more time with that question than attacking Trump and promoting his own agenda.

With suspense ended, the moment of the African-American woman has arrived in the capable person of Kamala Harris who would be capable of stepping immediately into the presidency should the need arise.

Trump seems to be the about the only one in the country who didn’t see this coming. So it’s back to the “Gotta dance with who brung ya” tactic—“She’s nasty, and maybe not even a citizen—‘a brilliant lawyer said so.’”

 For Democrats, it’s still a long road back. But for now, Biden-Harris is a breath of fresh air.

— John Waelti of Monroe, a retired professor of economics, can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Saturdays in the Monroe Times.