Kamala, tell us something we don't already know

How Harris can seal the deal. Plus, does a historic spacewalk breach a decades old treaty?

Kamala Harris did respectably in her first debate with Donald Trump. She should thank Trump for his invaluable assistance. Trump bit the hook every time she baited him. He gave a lame excuse for the one time he told the truth about losing the 2020 election (“I was being sarcastic”). Trump didn’t stay on message. But his closing statement left hanging a question that Harris must answer. In fact, it’s the only question Harris must answer: how will she differentiate herself from an administration where half of Americans feel they are worse off today than in 2020?

Erick Erickson correctly pointed out that most Americans don’t blame Donald Trump for the things that happened during Joe Biden’s administration. And everyone knows that it was the Biden-Harris administration. The fact that Biden is no longer running doesn’t absolve Harris from being part of the last four years—effectively running as an incumbent.

Harris would love to have her cake and eat it too. She would love to cast herself as a change agent, a vibe-master who will represent a break from the status-quo, while reaping the advantages of running as an incumbent who can take credit for the positive elements of the status-quo.

The debate displayed, for all Americans to see, that Harris’s definition of Donald Trump as “a disgrace” has bite. That came from people who worked with and for Trump in his administration. The message here is clear: Trump can’t and shouldn’t govern. Those who might have been on the fence about Trump’s policies and his ability to attract quality people may have been swayed by this message. In this respect, the debate will give Harris some momentum and needed distance in the seven states that will decide the election.

However, momentum is a fleeting thing. The question still remains on how Harris will govern, and can she handle the next four years. To gain the small number of voters that might hold their noses and vote for Trump because they don’t trust Harris, she will have to show better leadership than just appearing to handle Trump. I will say she handled him almost effortlessly—a display of prosecutorial skill. But now she has to answer the question to the American public.

In the end, she’s addressing us, not Trump. Harris must tell us something we don’t already know. After nearly four years in the government, she needs to tell voters how she can govern better than Joe Biden. Because if she can’t, no matter how much of a disgrace Trump might be, voters already know that. They also know that during Trump’s term, they may have been better off than the last four years.

This is the main thing Harris needs to do to seal the deal.

HISTORIC SPACEWALK. As I am about to publish this, SpaceX astronauts have just completed a historic spacewalk. They did this from a modified Crew Dragon capsule, which lacks an airlock. That made it extra-risky, though the time outside the capsule was short, and designed to test SpaceX’s new EVA suit. The astronauts were not using a backpack-style “PLSS” life support system, but were tethered to the spacecraft for oxygen. They did not free-float outside the capsule.

The biggest risk is that the entire spacecraft had to be completely depressurized in order for the astronauts to open the hatch. That means all the computers and contents of the Crew Dragon had to function in the vacuum of space. At this time, they are re-pressurizing the capsule, which appears to be copacetic, according to the plan.

Crew Dragon is flying at an orbit higher than any manned mission since the last moon voyage in the early 1970s. This is truly an accomplishment worth celebrating. The mission includes no NASA astronauts, and is led by the same tech billionaire who flew on the Inspiration4 mission. Jared Isaacman is funding three missions, this being the second. Isaacman certainly has the resume to be a spaceman: he has thousands of hours in jets, including ex-military fighters. The other crew members are former NASA employees and current SpaceX veterans.

Cheers went up from the control room when Sarah Gillis climbed outside for her spacewalk. Gillis worked mission control on Dragon cargo resupply missions, and has served as a Navigation Officer and crew communicator on various SpaceX missions.

However, there’s one fly in the ointment I didn’t know about until I read it. By flying a fully commercial, private mission in space, SpaceX may be violating Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty. The treaty specifies that any commercial activities must happen under the direct supervision and under the umbrella of a nation state. SpaceX is operating on their own. Of course, they got permits to launch from the FAA, and they had agreements to use NASA (and Space Force) facilities. But those agreements and permits do not extend to the outer space portion of the mission.

I doubt the Russians or Chinese will object. But this is technically a breach of the treaty.

THE RACKET NEWS™ IS NOW ON THREADS: Our scheduling software now supports Threads so we are opening a page on that site. We also have an Instagram account that has been pretty inactive, but you may see us doing more there as well. Check us out at: https://www.threads.net/@theracketnews

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS: You can follow us on social media at several different locations. Official Racket News pages include:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewsRacket

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewsRacket

Mastodon: https://federated.press/@RacketNews

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@theracketnews

David: https://www.threads.net/@captainkudzu71

Steve: https://www.threads.net/@stevengberman

Our personal accounts on the platform formerly known as Twitter:

David: https://twitter.com/captainkudzu

Steve: https://twitter.com/stevengberman

Jay: https://twitter.com/curmudgeon_NH

Thanks again for subscribing! Don’t forget to share us with your friends!