Readers React: One debate jab does not a contender make. Harris still has a long way to go

To the editor: Columnist George Skelton is already crowning Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as the likely winner of the California’s Democratic presidential primary after one debate.

This is someone who hasn’t even finished one term as U.S. senator. Let’s mention some facts about Harris and compare them with her debate performance.

As San Francisco district attorney, she supported a city policy to turn over undocumented juveniles to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, when she said she disagreed with President Obama’s policy.

While attorney general, she did require a small group of state agents working for her to wear body cameras, but she did not require it for police statewide. The way she characterized her actions as attorney general during the debate was misleading.

Let’s not hand out the crown just yet. Just because she prosecuted former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t mean she’s qualified to be president.

Les Hartzman, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Why are California voters “losers” if the debates preceding our March 2020 primary help to identify a clear leader in the race for the Democratic nomination?

To this voter, winnowing the field of 24 down to a smaller group of contenders helps voters focus on those candidates with a realistic chance of winning.

Would Skelton bemoan this natural process of elimination if it were helping the heretofore-presumed Democratic front-runner? I wonder.

Marcy Miroff Rothenberg, Porter Ranch

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook