The reason Kamala Harris was a bad presidential candidate is the reason she could be a good vice presidential candidate

The knock on Kamala Harris, presidential candidate, is that she was all California flash and no substance: She was impressive on paper and had an inspiring background, but she lacked an ideological compass.

Critics point to many examples of political expediency that would make Mitt Romney blush, but the most high-profile one was on Medicare-for-All, the signature policy issue of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season.

Preparing for a run for president, Harris became the first senator to co-sponsor Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill. Once she ran for president, she dropped her support and came up with her own bill that was such a mind-meld of moderate and progressive takes that even she struggled to explain it during debates.

But that’s history. Now, what Biden requires in his running mate is someone who is politically flexible. And someone with whom he has few areas of fundamental disagreement that President Trump can exploit, the way there would have been if, say, Elizabeth Warren were the choice