Las Vegas –

“I'm proud,” Kamala Harris said, elongating her words and stretching out the vowels. “I am proud!”

Donald Trump expressed great joy at choosing three Supreme Court justices to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, and now the vice president is using his own words – with pride. -Nevada Democrats were about to electrify the packed labor hall with their jeers and cheers.

“I’m proud,” she said. “I am proud of the fact that we took freedom of choice away from millions of women and people in America.”

When she said that, she couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth.

“He speaks openly of his admiration for dictators,” Harris continued in the same tone of surprise, even as some in the audience murmured their disapproval. “Dictators jail journalists. Dictators suspend elections.”

“Dictators,” she said, emphasizing each word. “Take. Your. Right.”

After a historic rise to vice president and a rocky start followed by a humiliating descent into ridicule and scorn, Harris finally seems to have found her footing in the familiar and skilled role of prosecuting attorney.

She is the Democratic Party's top fundraiser, has become an emissary to groups unsympathetic to President Biden, particularly Black and young voters, and the administration's most vocal voice on abortion, women's health and the threat posed by President Trump, which Ms. Harris frames as President Biden. He emerged as a powerful voice. Toward freedom and individual choice.

During a recent three-day tour of California and Nevada, she highlighted abortion issues and urged Democrats to vote early ahead of Tuesday's Nevada primary.

“Do you believe in freedom?” the vice president shouted, and the crowd of about 300 partisans inside the brightly lit union hall roared in affirmation. “Do you believe in democracy?”

“Are you ready to fight for it? Because when we fight”–and here they joined Harris in a thunderous chorus–“we win!”

Her high profile as a cheerleader, prosecutor, and pugilist has kind of reset after Harris's many early missteps and a series of mandates, such as immigration reform and border control, that seemed destined to fail. It was done.

Her purpose and utility changed when the Supreme Court issued its abortion decision in Dobbs in June 2022, overturning Roe v. Wade.

Although her approval ratings continue to slump, those close to the vice president say they have more confidence in her abilities to better suit her abilities as a former district attorney and California attorney general. There is.

Jamal Simmons, who served as Harris' communications director for a year until January 2023, said the abortion issue “draws on her policy background, political values, legal training and experience.” Since Dobbs, she has become more confident and dexterous in doing other things. ”

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The Vice President's travel is intended to be as frictionless as possible.

A block-long motorcade winds its way along a closed highway, and Knives cuts through streets specially marked for her path. Guests cheer as Harris arrives and departs from the airport, and reporters are held at bay by an aggressive squadron of Secret Service agents.

Still, external events have a way of breaking the bubble.

So when protesters showed up in San Jose as part of Harris' national “Fight for Reproductive Freedom” tour, the vice president seemed ready. Hundreds of supporters filled the large auditorium in the adobe Mexican Heritage Plaza as Harris answered questions gently posed by actress Sophia Bush.

Demonstrators unfurled banners reading “Liberate Palestine'' and “Ceasefire now.'' They repeatedly interrupted Harris and loudly criticized the Biden administration's support for Israel in its war with Hamas.

“You're complicit in genocide,” a young woman yelled from the fourth row and was chased out of the auditorium as the crowd chanted “MVP!” “MVP!” — Abbreviation for Madam Vice President.

Harris watched expressionlessly. She evenly stated that protests are a fundamental part of democracy. Everyone wants the conflicts in the Middle East to end.

A second explosion followed. Just a little later, a third. “So,” Harris began, but he paused for a moment. “There are a lot of big issues affecting our world right now, which understandably evoke very strong emotions, fear, anger, and tears.

“Today's topic is,'' he continued in a tone that sounded as if he were admonishing a school teacher. It's important and you shouldn't get distracted. ”

By the fourth interruption, Harris simply stood and waited for protesters on the balcony to be led away. Supporters chanted, “Four more years!” She then picked up exactly where she left off mid-sentence, laying out her case against President Trump and the conservative Supreme Court majority as if nothing had happened.

There's a good chance that equanimity will be part of your job description.

As the first female, black, and Asian American vice president, Ms. Harris has faced extraordinary scrutiny and, with it, inflated estimates of what she could accomplish.

The office of vice president is, and always has been, inherently limited, and there is no greater violation than overstepping or overshadowing the president, regardless of his historical standing. , cannot help but diminish the status of those who hold the office of vice president.

Even Harris' fans have difficulty understanding her position and understanding the gap between expectations and reality.

Hollister Mayor Mia Casey woke up before dawn and drove an hour and 15 minutes to meet Harris in San Jose.

“I liked Biden when she was running with him, but I haven't really seen her much,” Casey said from her perch about 10 rows back and to the left of center stage. “I was hoping to see her do more meaty things in D.C. and see her get more attention.”

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If Ms. Harris' main mission is to work on Biden's (and her own) re-election in November, another aspect is that she will be more or less involved in the Biden administration, or the Biden-Harris administration that the vice president prefers. The goal is to convince Mr. Casey and others that the

At a rally in Las Vegas, Harris gave a comprehensive report on the past three years.

“President Biden and I have canceled over $138 billion in student loans,” she said. “President Biden and I took on Big Pharma to cap insulin prices.” “President Biden and I” increased lending to hundreds of small businesses.

Yet her fate is often ignored or treated as a mere afterthought.

Introducing Harris, D-Nev. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto recalled the height of the pandemic lockdown, when the Las Vegas Strip went dark and the metro area's unemployment rate soared above 30%.

“It was one president who came and worked with us to turn the economy around and make sure we got out of that terrible period,” Cortés Masto said. She paused for dramatic effect. “And that was President Biden.”

“And,” she said quickly, “Vice President Harris.”

It was unfair, but at least the senator recognized the guest of honor.

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Harris loves to cook, so a stop at Chef Jeff Projects in North Las Vegas before the rally was a happy blend of pleasure and politics.

The program was started by Jeff Henderson, a former inmate turned celebrity chef who mentors at-risk youth into careers in the culinary field. His industrial-sized kitchen in a grimy shopping mall serves as a kind of temple to second chances, and the cramped room provided the perfect backdrop for Harris' event. The theme is “The Power of Salvation.”

Standing in front of a small portable lectern and addressing a group of cameras, the vice president announced changes to federal policy that would make it easier for formerly incarcerated people to receive Small Business Administration loans.

Yes, she said over the sound of the ice machine turning, she must be held accountable, especially for criminal acts. “But isn’t it a symbol of civil society to allow people to come back and earn an income?”

Harris ran through the workshop, past tall shelves stacked with plates and pans, and stopped where Cam Winslow was stirring a giant bowl of jambalaya. “Let’s talk about your process,” she said. “Please tell me how you did it.”

As Winslow explained, dicing the chicken, browning the andouille sausage, and saving the shrimp for last to keep them from overcooking, Harris punctuated his narration with a series of small interjections. . “Yes.” “Yeah.” “Delicious.”

“What I love about cooking is the process,” Harris told him. “The important thing is to have patience and know to take steps, right? It doesn't seem easy.”

“It’s the same with life,” Winslow said.

“Yes, that's right,” agreed the Vice President, who has learned a few things in recent years about trial and error, mistakes and starting over. “That's exactly right.”