"It’s so fundamental, life. I would rather be right and lose an election than wrong."

Said Marco Rubio, quoted in "Rubio co-sponsors Graham’s federal abortion ban at 15 weeks" (Orlando Sentinel).

Great news for Val Demings, who's only been a couple points behind Rubio in the polls.

Kamala Harris allies do a conference call with Joe Biden campaign staff and we get to read about it...

... at Politico. So embarrassing! Can't he at least look like he's in command, seeing what's good and bad in the people he knows, making his own decision? Why am I able to see that there's a "vetting unit" that includes Christopher Dodd, who's said something about Harris having "no remorse" for her "little girl was me" remark at a debate last year? I'm seeing the names of all these people on the conference call who were pitching Kamala Harris to Biden's people:

The conference call included several of the state’s highest-ranking elected officials and labor and business leaders, including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, state schools chief Tony Thurmond, state Treasurer Fiona Ma and Chad Griffin, a Democratic consultant and former head of Human Rights campaign, according to organizers. Representing the Biden campaign were the four main members of his vetting team: Dodd, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; and Biden's former White House and Senate counsel, Cynthia Hogan....

Somebody leaked all that. How messy!

A person on the call said Harris’ allies wanted the campaign to hear from people who know her best.... "This was about us sharing how much Kamala would be a stellar vice president," said one official who participated on the call, referencing Dodd’s earlier remarks. 'He spoke at length about her and said very nice things," the person said of Dodd’s comments about Harris on the conference call.... Dodd said “very supportive things” about Harris during the call, according to Kounalakis.... Critics suggested that Dodd was questioning a woman for being ambitious....

I don't think hearing about this call helps Harris! The call was intended to help Harris, and the leaker seems to want to help Harris, but now I'd be surprised if it's Harris.

Meanwhile, at the Washington Post, Dana Milbank is doing all he can to stomp on Susan Rice: "Why would Biden pick a human lightning rod as VP?"

"Racial tragedies stoke pressure on Joe Biden to pick a nonwhite running mate."

A WaPo headline. The photo at the top shows Biden, at a debate, next to Kamala Harris. I was trying to think of a word to describe his gesture and demeanor. I could only think of "mansplaining." Is there a word "whitesplaining"? There's got to be.

Against this backdrop [the "explosive incidents involving race and police violence"], several nonwhite prospects have emerged from the pack. Top Biden allies see Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), who is African American and Indian, as a leading contender. Biden has also said he is considering Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.). And Democratic leaders have suggested former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). Demings, Abrams and Fudge are black; Duckworth’s mother was Thai, and Cortez Masto, who said Thursday that she had removed herself from consideration, is Latina.

Is half Thai going to relieve the stoked pressure?

Biden really got himself cornered by already promising to pick a woman — otherwise black men would be in consideration. What about Cory Booker?!

From the Wikipedia article on Val Demings: