Enthusiasm is high, and I do not think it will wane. We have a presidential candidate who is not afraid to express joy while she is serious about what is at stake. She is smart and has heart.

Vice President Kamala Harris is intrepid and humble at the same time. She will be an inspired commander in chief. She contends with misogynoir meshugana on a daily basis and she carries on with dignity and a deep sense of purpose. I am all in for Kamala Harris.

I was on one of those early Zoom meetings for organizers at the end of July. Key campaign leaders facilitated a 2½-hour meeting that felt like 30 minutes because it was so engaging. Gloria Steinem chimed in from her living room, where she had a tapestry of women of all ages and backgrounds who also spoke. Two of them were high school girls too young to vote yet involved in elections and politics because of the future posited by present choices. Elected officials spoke in detail about why they support Harris to be our next president.

There are predictably ugly comments from political operatives on the right. They claim she does not have the experience or skill to lead the country, yet most people know she has worked in public service and elected office for most of her adult life. Harris has infinitely more hands-on government experience than the person who impersonated a president (and who failed miserably) now running against her.

Importantly, she has the intellect to lead and the understanding that true leadership requires unifying rather than dividing the public, whose lives depend on a stable and equitable society.

I think Harris would choose someone like Sen. Amy Klobuchar to be her VP if not concerned about societal misogyny. They are dear friends and allies, and Klobuchar has the experience and skill to lead. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand would be another potential choice. Me, I believe at this precise moment politically, Harris could afford to have a female running mate.

Of all of the white male choices she had, I am delighted she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. He checks off the boxes: veteran, public school teacher, progressive on social issues, pro-labor, Midwestern sensibilities. The ticket is strong!

In 2020, when I voted for Joe Biden, it felt like a duty to save our country from disaster rather than an intentionally joyous choice. I am old enough to recall things I do not like about Biden politically, yet I am present enough to feel gratitude and awe for all he has accomplished as our president these last few years.

His only smart move now was to step aside, and while I wish he would not have run for reelection for starters, here we are. With fewer than 100 days until the election, perhaps this is working out for the best. There is less time for people to try to topple Harris and her campaign.

The ignorant outbursts and recent years’ video messages from J.D. Vance are only helping the Democrats. If the Kansas City Chief’s kicker, Harrison Butker, was not busy preparing for the coming football season, he would make an excellent chief of staff for Vance. They both believe women should serve as patriarchal incubators primarily confined to quarters at home while the menfolk carry on with freedom and work that gives them fulfillment.

Meanwhile, in the real and complex world where women make all sorts of choices, crazy cat ladies and dotty dog women are by far happier in their lives than they would be if married to either of these two bloated blokes. I see great Halloween costumes this year. Catwoman?

Vice President Harris carried on with her career for many years before she settled into a marriage she chose. Men are not judged harshly when they choose a similar path. Twice as many men do not have children but it is presented as a societal emergency when women are childless by choice or circumstance. Whether or not Harris is third parent to her husband’s children, she serves the public with sincerity and she very much cares about the future of our planet.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (July 4, 2026), it will benefit all of us to continue to live in a democracy where we can freely argue, unite, strive for improvement, and participate in civic engagement in small and large ways. A country where there is reason to hope.

Guess who I’m voting for on Nov. 5?

J.M. Sorrell, of Northampton, is a feminist at her core. These days, she is consumed by all things Harris and Paris. Go Gabby! En garde to anyone who takes on Lee Kiefer.