Harris is fond of “speaking truth” to people. Here is what I would say to her:
You have advantages that are the envy of your competitors. You stand out in a crowd, due to your looks and exotic ethnicity. You have a degree of charisma that most of the other candidates don’t share. The primary timetable, which puts your home state up early, will help you. You have some politically shrewd ideas about policy. Your ability to cross-examine Trump’s people is a calling card of sorts. And yet, you seem to be stuck in the mud. Why?
Because you don’t know what you stand for, except your own interests. You haven’t decided if you want to run as a fundi or a realo. You change positions based on polls, social media, and the last person who spoke to you. You may be trying to bridge the gap between the two factions, but you come across to the general public as someone whose only core value is her own ambition. That simply won’t fly in a long and grueling campaign, particularly since we already have a president who meets that description.
Time is starting to run short. If you repeatedly respond to questions during the debates by saying that we “need to have a conversation,” instead of taking a position, everyone will view you as an unprincipled wimp, and your campaign will wither and die. That would be a shame. You’re too talented to let that happen.
And oh, by the way, there are far more votes in the identity/realo than in the identity/fundi quadrant. You might want to keep that in mind.