M.V.P. IT HAD TO BE YOU!

She's too pretty.

That's what somebody said to me back in the day, long before we knew how the Democratic primary would unfold. Had I thought the man saying it was sexist, I might have been offended, but I sort of got what he was saying. I've never heard anybody complain about a president being too handsome -- certainly not the current one -- but this is our culture. Handsome, good. Pretty, bad.  What is charismatic in a man is threatening in a woman, not just in the highest office in the land.

Well, things have certainly evolved since then. "Too pretty" has been replaced by "too ambitious." I admit I've had reservations about Kamala Harris, at least as a VP pick, but mostly because I think of her as a prosecutor, and I thought her talents could be better used elsewhere. I've watched in awe as she skewered the somehow un-skewerable powerful men who have come before her in the Senate. I soured on her during the campaign, but I soured on everybody during the campaign, particularly the ones who dared to expose any fissures in the party. Yes, my fear of another four years of hell is that great. 

Campaigns are like dating, sort of. People are much more likable when they're not angling for something. Politicians are always angling, but campaigns bring out angling on steroids. Still, even after Kamala threw her support to Joe, I liked her again but I had my reservations, thought she'd be far more useful as attorney general. With all the qualified woman in the "veepstakes," I thought there were plenty of fine alternatives. 

And then today arrived. And I heard today would be the day. And I took under advisement all the imminent lines of attack against all the others -- whether justified or not -- and I had my Kamala epiphany. Only moments before the news of the pick broke, I realized it had to be Kamala. She was the one and only right pick, the one who could excite people and check all the boxes and, perhaps most importantly, go on to skewer Pence in a debate and out-Teflon Teflon Don. He will throw all kinds of shit at her, and I am confident it will go splat, right back in his face. 

Shortly after the announcement, my friend texted to tell me she had opened a bottle of champagne and was toasting Kamala. Coincidentally, I had done the same. The news was more than a relief. It was cause for celebration. It was exciting. It gave me hope -- a thing in short supply these days. It gave me a glimmer of real light at the end of what has seemed like an endless dark tunnel. 

Yes, she is pretty. I admit it, I want my hair to look just like hers. Yes, she is ambitious. Duh. And she is smart, and she is tough, and she has proven that she can wipe the floor with some of the biggest shit-heads this administration has brought to bear on our country. And hopefully Maya Rudolph will revive her sultry Kamala on SNL. 

Here's to you Madame future Vice President, and to you, Mr. past Vice President, for making such a wise choice. Let's get this done.