Vice President Kamala Harris just loves yellow school buses. Who doesn’t? Don’t you? They’re just such a part of the excitement of — checks notes — school.
During remarks in Seattle, Washington, about the Biden administration’s investment in clean school buses, the vice president became very effusive about the mode of transportation for many students.
“Here’s the thing, who doesn’t love a yellow school bus? Can you raise your hand if you love a yellow school bus?” Harris asked.
She went on, “Many of us went to school on the yellow school bus, right? And it’s part of our experience growing up. It’s part of a nostalgia and a member of the excitement and joy of going to school to be with your favorite teacher, to be with your best friends, and to learn. The school bus takes us there.”
Watch the video below:
Harris: "Who doesn't love a yellow school bus, right? Can you raise your hand if you love a yellow school bus? Many of us went to school on the yellow school bus, right? …The excitement and joy of going to school…the school bus takes us there." pic.twitter.com/Ksdvy8J8z5
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 26, 2022
This is not the first time Harris has expressed excitement about school buses. During a climate discussion last week, she shared that one part of the Inflation Reduction Act she is most excited about is electric school buses.
Transitioning to electric school buses is a cool idea. It probably is healthier for students. But how many people are going to be this excited about school buses?
Just as thus far, President Joe Biden has not been too busy campaigning for Democrats, Harris has likewise not been hitting the campaign trail.
In fact, The Washington Post notes few national Democratic figures have been seen on the campaign trail.
It makes sense as Biden’s national approval rating is underwater and is positive in just five states. Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight’s approval rating tracker finds just 38.4% of Americans approve of Harris’ job performance.
Those low approval ratings come as inflation remains stubbornly high, there are fresh concerns about a potential recession, and gas prices are still higher than a year ago.
Democratic candidates are not going to want to be tied to an unpopular president and vice president ahead of what could be a very bad year for their party. And Biden staffers can come up with reasons why the president has to stay in Washington, D.C., and can’t be out campaigning.
But you can’t simply disappear as sitting vice president for a campaign season and have people not notice. So what do you do especially when the vice president tends to be gaffe prone and just awkward? You have her give speeches about issues that aren’t that exciting or hard to mess up or make controversial.
Who is going to get upset about school buses? There do not seem to be too many areas where Harris could butcher policy details or seem uninformed about the issue. It’s not like talking about the causes of inflation or border security or tackling crime.
It is a great way to keep her busy and at least provides some excuse for why she is not on the campaign trail, while limiting the risk that she delivers a gaffe or bizarre interview. In other words, it is a low-risk, high-reward strategy.
