… Tonight, Senator Kamala Harris will become just the third woman, and the first woman of color, to be nominated for the vice presidency on a major party ticket. Since Ms. Ferraro’s run, Hillary Clinton broke a higher barrier, becoming the Democratic nominee for president, and a historic number of women ran for president this year, including Ms. Harris. Still, the expectations and fears around this moment have been tumbling around the American psyche for more than 35 years. The identity of a vice-presidential candidate is, research suggests, unlikely to swing voters, but that has not dampened its force as a media narrative, a historical event, a television spectacle and an assessment of America’s relationship to gender and power — one that culminates in the candidate’s formal acceptance speech, which Ms. Harris will deliver from Wilmington, Del. CONT.
Amanda Hess, New York Times