Letters to the Editor: What does Kamala Harris owe the press? Readers on how journalists should cover her
To the editor: I am not a supporter of former President Trump. I am an independent-leading Democrat, but I believe Vice President Kamala Harris is Teflon. She will say anything you want to hear. (“Harris shouldn’t talk to the press. That’s our fault,” column, Aug. 15)
Yes, Harris is running on “vibes” and some very broad policy measures, but her mandate is not clear. Will she continue with President Biden’s foreign policy measures? Does she even have any real policies going ahead?
If the media were honest — and they were not in leading us into thinking Biden was still mentally agile — they would be emphasizing the truth: Harris was not nominated for this job by the people. She did not earn the right to be the Democratic candidate for president.
The nomination should have happened at the Democratic National Convention with numerous candidates participating. Instead of courting conflict, the Democrats chose someone who was safe, whose values fluctuate depending on the weather.
As a voter, I will have to be convinced that Harris deserves this job. Anita Chabria’s commentary pushes the same story several others are trying to sell us: that Harris is seasoned to be president. She is not, and we deserve better.
Isabel Margolin, Amherst, Mass.
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To the editor: I was all set to give my opinion that Harris doesn’t need to sit down with the press. If you don’t know her and her policies by now, that’s on you.
And then I read the second half of Chabria’s column, about journalists being info-plumbers. Chabria is dead right here.
We need a good plumber to clean out the crap politicians spew. But, to continue the metaphor, journalists for the past nine years have been crappy at their jobs.
We need them to call out politicians (and I am thinking of one politician in particular here) to their face when they lie. Don’t let them walk all over you. Don’t fact check and whine about it afterward.
We need you to roll up your sleeves, get down in the muck and step up to your job.
Janet Dooley, Fawnskin, Calif.
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To the editor: I’m no Trumper, but at least the orange man has press conferences and takes on the challenges of the campaign with interviews.
As we enter a probable war in the Middle East along with nuclear threats, shouldn’t we know more about where she stands on the likes of the Gaza Strip and Ukraine? You know, the issues, not just coconut jokes and TikTok takes?
It’s only months before an election in which the Democrats say they’re “saving democracy.” What’s up?
Andrew Liberman, Santa Monica
