The Indispensable Newsletter #11

Every VP is a DEI Hire

Author

Gautam Mukunda
September 06, 2024

Hey there!

It's great to be back with another edition of The Indispensable Newsletter. As we navigate the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle, it's clear that some age-old political debates are resurfacing with new vigor.

This month, we're examining a critical aspect of American politics: The selection of vice presidents. Recent discussions about Democratic nominee Kamala Harris have brought this topic into sharp focus, revealing some misconceptions about the role of diversity in our political system.

In this issue, we'll explore:

  • The historical diversity in vice presidential selections

  • How past VPs have leveraged their experience for presidential bids

  • A comparative analysis of vice presidential qualifications through history

Drawing from my research for Picking Presidents: How To Make The Most Consequential Decision In the World, we'll separate fact from fiction—and get a clearer picture of the sweep of American politics.

Let’s dive in.

Deep Dive: Every Vice President Is A DEI Hire

Think Kamala Harris is the first “DEI hire” for VP? History would like a word.

Yet, as Harris ascends as the Democratic nominee, some Republicans seem to have forgotten what they learned in civics classes. Tennessee’s Rep. Tim Burchett described her as “our DEI vice president,” while Wyoming’s Rep. Harriet Hageman made the subtext explicit by saying, “Intellectually, Kamala is bottom of the barrel….a DEI hire. I just don’t think they have anybody else.” Even Elon Musk has joined in by tweeting an altered video in which a fake Harris voice describes herself as “the ultimate diversity hire.” These critics are not just attacking Harris—they're inadvertently taking aim at a longstanding American political tradition. Their comments reveal a factually and historically inaccurate line of thinking and suggest that Harris’s four years as Vice President—which would normally be seen as ideal preparation for the presidency—don’t count. At their core, they show an oversight of a basic fact about American history: Virtually every vice president is chosen for political reasons—and many times, that reason is diversity.  

The vice presidency has always been preparation for the presidency. The first vice president, John Adams, became the second president. Of the 45 people who have served as president, 15 served as vice president: six of those became president via election in their own right.

In my last book, Picking Presidents, I examined every president’s path to the White House. Of the 49 vice presidents, only two—Harry Truman and Gerald Ford—were chosen primarily because they were seen as the best choice to be the next president. Truman replaced Henry Wallace because Democratic leaders who knew that Franklin Roosevelt was unlikely to survive his fourth term felt Wallace was too far to the left. After Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford was forced on Richard Nixon by Republican leaders who knew that he would soon resign, too.

What about the vice presidents who have won on their own? Of the six, two—John Adams and Thomas Jefferson—became vice president when the vice presidency went to whomever came in second in the Electoral College. The other four—Martin Van Buren, Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, and Joe Biden—were all chosen, in part, for the diversity they brought to the ticket. Three added regional diversity: Van Buren was from New York, which balanced Andrew Jackson, a Southerner; Nixon was from California, which strengthened the ticket in the West; and George H.W. Bush made his career in Texas, which helped the Californian Reagan. Two added age diversity: The youthful Nixon balanced the older Dwight Eisenhower, while the older Biden balanced the youthful Barack Obama. And one, Biden, added racial diversity to the ticket, as his status as a white male balanced Obama’s status as the first Black major party nominee. 

All four men, in other words, were picked to be vice president at least in part because diversity considerations played a major role. Regional and age diversity, after all, are every bit as much a form of diversity as race. If focusing on diversity narrows the talent pool, then Biden, drawing from the 51% of the American population that is female, had a slightly bigger one than any of his predecessors. 

As for traditional political experience at the statewide or federal level, Kamala Harris has 6 years as California Attorney General, 4 years in the Senate, and almost 4 years in the White House. That’s less than the other vice presidents in whose footsteps she is trying to follow, but vastly outstrips many other occupants of the Oval Office, including figures like Abraham Lincoln (2 years in Congress), Woodrow Wilson (2 years as Governor of New Jersey), Barack Obama (4 years in the Senate), and, of course, Donald Trump in 2016 (not one day).  

Did a desire for diversity play a role in Kamala Harris’s elevation to the vice presidency? Of course it did. That doesn’t make her unique. Appealing to diverse segments of the American public is how elections have always been won. Far from making her an unqualified “DEI hire,” it makes her just like her predecessors. If the boost that diversity gave them for the presidency did not detract from their qualifications, then it certainly cannot detract from hers. 

Diversity in politics is a great American tradition. Kamala Harris is simply carrying it on.

In the Media

Today's political polarization isn't new—it's a return to historical norms. The post-WWII era of relative political harmony was the exception, not the rule.

The latest episode of "Single Best Idea with Tom Keene" features our conversation about the myth of political normalcy in America. I argue that our current media landscape mirrors the partisan press of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. The challenge now? Relearning how to navigate this environment.

Interested in a fresh perspective on our political system? Give it a listen here:

You can watch my whole Bloomberg Surveillance segment here, or on Youtube.