# Kamala Harris's choice of Tim Walz as VP **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [August 6, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352 "2024-08-06T21:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/604 "2024-08-28T21:29:41Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > How to say you’ve never played sports without directly saying you’ve never played sports. I mean, I’ve never played sports, either. I have a hard time imagining someone less into sports than I. But I still know how players refer to their coaches. I know this because I have existed in a world that includes other people. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/605 "2024-08-28T22:23:05Z")
Here’s a nickname the MAGAts can have free of charge: “Stretch Nikita Khrushchev” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/606 "2024-08-28T23:02:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I mean, I’ve never played sports, either. I have a hard time imagining someone less into sports than I. But I still know how players refer to their coaches. I know this because I have existed in a world that includes other people. Good point. But, have you ever cheated on your pet dog by petting a different dog? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/607 "2024-08-30T01:06:53Z")
I have. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/608 "2024-08-30T01:10:36Z")
Hussy. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/609 "2024-08-30T01:28:57Z")
Good thing you are running for VP of USA. I think my pocket constitution says that is an instant disqualifier. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/610 "2024-08-30T01:35:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I mean, I’ve never played sports, either. I have a hard time imagining someone less into sports than I. But I still know how players refer to their coaches. I know this because I have existed in a world that includes other people. Whereas I’m the guy who says ‘football’s the one with the pointy ball, right?’ I _don’t know_ what the proper protocol is for coaching hierarchies and can’t imagine why anybody would think it was important in this context. I mean, I’m kinda embarrassed for them. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/611 "2024-08-30T04:57:50Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Hussy I think it’s spelled Husky. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/612 "2024-08-30T13:45:54Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I _don’t know_ what the proper protocol is for coaching hierarchies In any sport, any official coach at any level can be addressed as “coach”, and a lot of unofficial (i.e. volunteer) coaches as well. “Head Coach” is a status label or specific job title. Pro football, little league baseball, PE class in school. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/613 "2024-08-30T14:49:29Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > In any sport, any official coach at any level can be addressed as “coach”, and a lot of unofficial (i.e. volunteer) coaches as well. I think I addressed this a couple of weeks ago as well. _All_ coaches are addressed as ‘coach’ by their players. No coach is addressed as ‘head coach’ or ‘assistant defensive line coach’ or anything else. It might be ‘Coach Mary’ or ‘Coach Smith’, but it’s always, always ‘coach’. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/614 "2024-08-30T14:53:07Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > _All_ coaches are addressed as ‘coach’ by their players. No coach is addressed as ‘head coach’ or ‘assistant defensive line coach’ or anything else. Just like you’d address an assistant professor as “Professor,” or a Lieutenant Colonel as “Colonel.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/615 "2024-08-30T14:58:22Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I think I addressed this a couple of weeks ago as well. _All_ coaches are addressed as ‘coach’ by their players. Exactly. As an example, last weekend, a man named Joe D’Alessandris, who was the offensive line coach for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, passed away. He had a 45-year career in coaching, always coaching offensive linemen (i.e., an assistant coach), never a head coach. Doesn’t matter, he was still referred to as “coach”, with no modifier/qualifier: > [@](#): > > “Coach ‘Joe D’ was a man of integrity and a man of faith,” [Ravens head coach John] Harbaugh said in a statement. “He made us all better. He was our reader at team mass, and he was loved by all here. He was a great coach and a good man – the kind of person who you are honored to have as a friend. I admired him, loved him and am going to miss him, because ‘Joe D’ was a joy.” > [@](#): > > “Today is a sad day for the Baltimore Ravens,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. "‘Joe D’ was a rock, a great coach and a better person. > [@](#): > > “I’ll never forget that laugh. Thank you coach D,” Stanley [posted to X](https://x.com/megatronnie/status/1827791840604459244) on Sunday. This was a post on the Ravens’ X account: > [@](#): > > Our hearts ache with grief and sadness upon learning of Coach Joe D’Alessandris’ passing early this morning. > **[Ravens O-line coach D'Alessandris dies at age 70](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40990315/ravens-offensive-line-coach-joe-dalessandris-dies-age-70)** > > Ravens offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris died Sunday morning at the age of 70, the team announced. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/616 "2024-08-30T15:00:26Z")
[Coach Ernie Pantusso](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_Ernie_Pantusso) was a third base coach. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/617 "2024-08-30T15:02:04Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > [Coach Ernie Pantusso](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_Ernie_Pantusso) was a third base coach And, for that matter, in baseball, by tradition, a team’s “head coach” isn’t even titled “coach,” it’s “manager.” Anyone who is a “coach” in baseball is, by definition, an assistant coach. Anyway, we’re beating a dead horse. It’s clear that an assistant coach is still a coach, and referring to them as “Coach” is not deceptive; it’s just the Republicans grasping at straws to find something about Walz to pick at. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/618 "2024-08-30T15:09:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s clear that an assistant coach is still a coach, and referring to them as “Coach” is not deceptive; it’s just the Republicans grasping at straws to find something about Walz to pick at. I think these weak attacks might be part of what wins this for Harris and Walz. The MAGA types will hear these attacks, because they are the ones who are the intended audience. But at the same time, it’s such a lame attack, about a subject that a large majority of Americans are quite familiar with, that it has to make at least some of them wonder, “Is this really the best they can come up with?” I mean, they’re routinely being told that Harris and Walz are going to destroy the country in some non-specific manner, but then, the most specific complaint they see is, he gets called “coach”? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/619 "2024-08-30T15:18:43Z")
I think that’s the primary point. I’m very sure MAGA-land is full of people who are quite familiar with the fact that their kids call all the coaches on the staff, “Coach.” That’s what makes it particularly stupid. It’s like telling Catholics that an “enemy” candidate calls his assistant pastor, “Father,” even though he’s not the head padre. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/620 "2024-08-30T15:21:25Z")
Or claiming that someone that has earned a PHD has no right to use Dr. in front of their name unless they’ve performed open heart surgery. Unless they’re Republican, of course. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/621 "2024-08-30T16:01:04Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > it’s such a lame attack, about a subject that a large majority of Americans are quite familiar with And to be very clear, the _target_ demographic of those who might respond positively specifically to his being a football coach, his rural roots, and small town sensibilities, is the exact demographic that _most_ understands exactly how lame the attack is. Those few of us who don’t understand that every coach is Coach, and there may be a few … well they are not the target audience of playing up Coach. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/622 "2024-08-30T16:16:46Z")
I heard the assistant coach thing as an actual attack once a few weeks ago, and endless comments about it since then around here. This isn’t an attack they are going with. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/623 "2024-08-30T16:19:39Z")
🙂 No doubt true. I don’t frequent the sites where those attacks are actually made. They may have realized it was a dumb line to take after day one. Could be. Still happy to amplify every fumble team Trump makes however I can! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352.md?page=32)