Readers React: What exactly has Sen. Kamala Harris done to deserve presidential speculation?

To the editor: The Los Angeles Times’ handicapping of a presidential run by Democrat Kamala Harris, the woefully inexperienced junior senator from California, fails to ask the fundamental question: What has she done to be even included in such a conversation?

Is “brand crafting” more important than serious public policy initiatives that result in legislation and federal laws? Are 18 months in office enough to spark presidential speculation?

Interrogating the president’s Cabinet members in a highly partisan way, as Harris famously did to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and then-Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, does little to change Washington and does even less to create a bipartisan atmosphere we need to get things done.

The carefully crafted national profile of Harris as presidential timber is dubious at best and reminds me of Robert Redford’s character Bill McKay in “The Candidate” when he uttered the infamous words after winning an election: “What do we do now?”

Nicholas Antonicello, Venice Beach

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To the editor: The first priority of any elected official is to do the job he or she was elected to do.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has come under increased scrutiny for the time he has spent in other states and cities seeking to boost his name recognition for a possible run for president in 2020. Now, Harris is spending a lot of money and time building a national profile so that she too can run for the highest office in the land.

Note to Garcetti and Harris: Stop cheating your constituents and instead focus on your current job.

Mitchell Lane, Shadow Hills

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