In my previous column, I compared our presidential options to choosing between eating a dead cat and ... something worse. I ended by imploring, “would a sandwich be too much to ask?” Well, ask and you shall receive. Dead cat is out, and I’m all in on Sandwich 2024!

Admittedly, I would vote for chlamydia before I’d vote for Trump. Yet, for the first time since Obama, I have a candidate I’m actually excited about. The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin writes that Harris has had “a career that’s ranged from working as a line prosecutor to running the San Francisco agency for abused and neglected children to serving as California Attorney General and then its senator.” Not to mention serving four years as the nation’s vice president. Some claim that she was ineffectual in the latter, but the fact that Fox News had to criticize her laugh and stance on drinking straws suggests a lack of true scandals. (Also, while we’re on the topic, has anyone ever heard Trump laugh? Try to imagine the sound — you can’t. He calls Harris “crazy” for laughing, but being incapable of laughter seems far more sociopathic ... as does having Hannibal Lecter as a hero ...)

Of course, this is only the beginning of the deranged and groundless attacks sure to come. Some Republicans have accused Harris of failing as Biden’s “border czar” (a nonexistent role), leading to a “migrant crime wave” (also nonexistent). However, border security was never Harris’s job, crime rates dropped every year of Biden’s presidency, migrants commit fewer crimes than Americans, and counties along the Mexico border actually have less crime than the U.S. average.

Then there are the “DEI” attacks on Kamala that we’re supposed to pretend are something other than naked racism and misogyny.

Yes, Biden pledged to choose a woman for his vice president and did, but are we supposed to believe that this is discriminatory while the nation’s nearly unbroken string of white-male vice presidents and presidents is just a coincidence? Or that race and gender had nothing to do with Trump choosing JD Vance as a running mate? As Dana Milbank writes in The Washington Post, “Right. Vance, who has served 19 months in the Senate after writing a book and briefly dabbling as a venture capitalist, was picked by Trump on the merits. But Harris, who spent decades as a prosecutor, district attorney, attorney general and senator, became vice president because of diversity, equity and inclusion.” At any rate, the people who won’t vote for a woman or person of color for president have been in Trump’s camp all along, so these attacks will only energize Harris’ supporters by reminding them of the stakes of this election.

Meanwhile, Trump has decided that the best thing to invigorate his campaign is more of the same. Anyone who thought that Trump might choose a running mate who could offset his weaknesses is clearly not true MAGA or they’d realize that Trump doesn’t have any. So, he went with watered-down, room-temperature Diet Trump instead. I do agree with JD Vance on some things, like when he called Trump “America’s Hitler,” “a cynical a--hole" and “cultural heroin.” Unfortunately, he also supports banning abortion without exceptions for incest or rape, has encouraged people to stay in violent marriages, and thinks people without children are second-class citizens. He also has all the oozing charisma of a bearded Ron DeSantis.

This race is no longer about making the best of bad options. It’s now between hope, progress and possibility on the one hand and fear, bitterness and impotent rage on the other. It’s between those who believe in America’s promise and those ready to abandon democracy. Harris is not a perfect candidate — no such thing exists — and her deficits will become clear in the coming months. But, she’s more than just “better than Trump.” She’s a hard-working public servant and decent human being who has earned her place at the top and is uniquely positioned to build on the successes of her predecessor. Maybe my need for hope is clouding my judgment, but for now it feels damn good to believe that a better future is on the horizon.

Urie is a lifelong Idahoan and graduate of the University of Idaho. He lives in Moscow with his wife and two children. You can find his writing online at Medium (hopeanyway.medium.com) or Substack (hopeanyway.substack.com). Or, you can email him at ryanthomasurie@gmail.com.