There’s a scene in Isaac Asimov’s classic Foundations trilogy where a logician analyzes a politician’s speech and determines the man said exactly nothing. I read that in high school in the 1970s, and it still sticks with me, because at the time it seemed so much like what politicians do. Now I don’t think it’s really possible. Not even for politicians. They always says something, even when they try not to.

Kamala Harris tried very hard not to say anything in this quick 60 Minutes Overtime segment (below). Norah O’Donnell asked great questions; Harris ducked everything. Yet she said so much. I have a full transcript here, starting with an easy observation by O’Donnell.

Not Me! Pence!

“You’re considered the most liberal senator.”

Harris laughs. “I — somebody said that, and it was actually Mike Pence on the debate stage.”

So the first thing she says is, it isn’t about her, it’s about Mike Pence.

Look at Me! I’m Woke!

“Actually, the non-partisan govtrack has rated you as the most liberal senator… You supported the Green New Deal, you supported Medicare for all, you’ve supported legalizing marijuana. Joe Biden doesn’t support those things. So are you going to bring the policies, those progressive policies that you supported as senator, into a Biden administration?

“What I will do, and I promise you this; this is what Joe wants me to do; this was part of our deal. I will always share with him my lived experience as it relates to any issue that we confront; and I promised Joe that I will give him that perspective and always be honest with him.”

The second thing she says: The phrase “lived experience” is code, signaling the Woke left she’s one of them. It’s one of their lines. Minority members have special moral authority no one else can attain, because of their “lived experience.”

“And is that a socialist or progressive perspective?”

“No…”  (Here she cackles at length. I use that word advisedly and intentionally.) “No, it is the perspective of, of a woman who grew up a, a, a black child in America, who was also a prosecutor, who also has a mother who arrived here at the age of 19 from India, who also, you know, likes hip-hop…” (cackles again), “Like, what do you want to know?” (Cackles some more.)

The third thing she says: It’s about identity. Identity politics. She didn’t use the word “intersectionality,” but it’s in there, not far below the surface.

Not Me! Trump!

“I want to give you the opportunity to address this, because at the Republican National Convention, President Trump made the case that Joe Biden is going to be nothing more than a Trojan horse for socialist policies, for the left wing of the Democratic Party. Are you going to push those policies when you’re vice president of the United States?”

“I am not going to be confined to Donald Trump’s definition of who I or anybody else is. And I think Americans have learned that that would be a mistake.”

The fourth thing she says: It’s not about her, it’s about Donald Trump.

Not Me! Joe and Trump!

“So just to button that up, because you have fought for Medicare for all. That’s not something that Joe Biden supports. If you became vice president, would you say to a President Biden, “You know what? Let’s, we should really be pushing for Medicare for all, not a public option, that’s just not going to do it, that’s not my value.”

“I would not have joined the ticket if I didn’t support what Joe was proposing. And so our plan includes expanding on everything that Joe together with Obama created with the Affordable Care Act. By contrast, you have Donald Trump, who is in court right now, trying to get rid of a policy that brought health care to over 20 million people including protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and he’s doing it in the middle of a pandemic that has killed over 215,000 Americans.”

The fifth thing she says: It’s not about her, it’s about Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

5 Things That Mean 2 Things That Mean 1 Thing

She says five things that boil down to two: She’s Woke, and everything else is about someone else: Mike Pence, Donald Trump, or Joe.

And that’s it. She didn’t say what she believes, or what she’d do in office. She didn’t say how long she expects she’ll have to put up with Joe before he’s out of her way.

She made everything about other leaders she had to work with, while displaying her complete unwillingness to take a stitch of responsibility for herself or her opinions.

It really boils down to just one thing. Would you want to work for a boss like that? Is it moral? Is it leadership? Would you want someone like that leading anything at all, much less the United States?

Tom Gilson (@TomGilsonAuthor) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books, including the recently released Too Good To Be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality.