I have spent several years now thinking about the idea of authenticity, because I believe it is the quality that American society most craves, but also one that is rare and incredibly hard to define.
We clearly see this in our presidential race, in which Donald Trump’s supporters view him as a straight shooter who always says what he means, while his detractors describe him as a snake-oil salesman who will say anything to get what he wants.
Similarly, Kamala Harris fans see a tried and true public servant with decades of experience under her belt, while Republicans see a chameleon changing political colors more often than the pride flag.
Are either of them authentic? Neither of them? What is authenticity?
My own search to define the elusive quality began at a little dive bar in Venice Beach called Hinano. I’d just driven from Brooklyn To L.A. and the final day’s drive had taken me through about six different Bob Ross paintings from hunter green forest to deathly beige desert, moonscapes and Indian trading posts in between.
With my burger and beer I felt what Jack Kerouac once described as ‘end of the land sadness,’ but the company was very pleasant and as I looked around I saw sawdust on the floor, a Beach Boys cover band was playing, but I wondered, was this authentic?
Now, Hinano has been there since 1962 and apparently Jim Morrison loved it, so it had that going for it, but on the other hand, it felt almost like we were all playacting in some other time and place, like a 60’s California Renaissance Fair. And I could easily hold both of those ideas in my mind.
I thought about Hinano on Wednesday when Donald Trump underwent an at times hilarious interview at the National Association of Black Journalists in which he basically said Harris only recently started calling herself back, and used to go by Indian. About 15 minutes of anger and scandal ensued, then mostly disappeared.
I asked the one woman I met who was furious about it if she thought it would change any votes. Without a beat she said, ‘no.’
It was immediately clear to me, and to the people I spoke with, Democrat and Republican alike, that this was just Trump being unflinchingly Trump. But at the same time, Trump is a very unique kind of character.
Donald Trump has been a celebrity for 50 years, a kind of stylish contrarian, the guy who goes the other way and never backs down or apologizes. Even though this has all been completely consistent, to those who dislike him it also feels put on, like Trump has been playing a character or a brand for half a century and cannot separate the mask from his face anymore.
With Harris, things are a bit different. Republican voters are apoplectic that she seems to be changing her positions on everything from fracking to health care with no pushback from the liberal media. To them, this is the dictionary definition of inauthentic. But that’s not how Democratic voters see it.
The ones I talk to see a person who spent her whole life in party politics, and who knows how to bend to the will of the collective, and frankly, as far as Democratic politicians go, that is awfully authentic. Let’s not forget it was Barack Obama himself who ‘evolved’ from opposing gay marriage owing to his deep Christian beliefs to supporting it once it was politically feasible.
What was important about Trump’s attack on Harris’ alleged racial code switching is that he was precisely dinging her for being inauthentic, for pretending to be different people for different audiences. This is where Harris still has something to prove to swayable voters; they don’t quite know who she really is.
Between now and the end of the Democratic National Convention, both sides will eagerly try to paint Harris in the minds-eye of persuadable voters, and for these voters commitment to the good of the party will not be enough for her. They need to see the real Kamala Harris stand up, and need to believe that it is the same Kamala Harris that would preside in the Oval Office next year.
In the end, after a few years, a few more trips and visits,I decided that Hinano is authentic, but the place had to earn it. So does the vice president, and she doesn’t have a lot of time to do that.