Can Kamala Harris learn to be her own person at age 60?If not, can she use a discreet earphone so the unseen handlers can provide immediate guidance during potential public appearances and media questioning exposure? After gaining her party’s nomination by hastily manipulated default, should she also expect election simply because of its label?Her situation is such that potential defeat can be triggered by party defections because of either (a) the hastily contrived circumstances of her presidential candidacy or (b) her difficulty in articulating a coherent agenda supporting it.Both reinforce public suspicion of being seduced into four years of problematic governance at a time when America’s stature is in decline. Party loyalty can be commendable, but not when the national interest is so obviously at stake.Strong and decisive leadership from a convincing personality is needed to replace a tentative current regime. Its candidate’s only indication of possible change from recent policy and practice has been to suggest adoption of certain opposition policies.That’s an admission of failure, not an argument for party re-election. Phil Osifer