This isn't hard.

Some suggestions for mildly criticizing Joe Biden.

During yesterday’s interview on The View, Vice President Kamala Harris was asked if she would “have done something differently than President Biden over the past four years” and responded that “there is not a thing that comes to mind.” The problem with Harris’ response is that a majority of voters can’t stand the incumbent president, don’t believe his presidency has been a success, and are hoping for change.

I argued after the first debate that Harris should more aggressively distance herself from Biden and be willing to criticize some aspects of his presidency. Sadly, Harris hasn’t done this yet and it may cost her the election, which is essentially tied at the national level and not looking great in swing states.

Recent Gallup polling tells us some of the issues that registered voters say are most important to them. Drawing on this list, I want to provide some language that Harris could use to criticize Biden’s record in office.

The most important issues for registered voters, according to recent Gallup polling.

• The economy: “President Biden and I celebrated the economy a lot over the past couple years. We’re proud of the economic growth and low unemployment we’ve achieved, but I think the administration was too slow to recognize pretty brutal inflation and, once it was clear that it wouldn’t be transitory, didn’t take aggressive enough action to mitigate the harms. Inflation surged at exactly the same time that a lot of the Covid aid was expiring, and this put many Americans in a really tough spot. I wish the administration had moved fast to fight price-gouging and profiteering at supermarkets. I was frustrated they didn’t and that’s why my campaign platform includes a federal law against price-gouging.”

• Immigration: “President Biden tasked me with addressing the root causes of migration from Northern Triangle countries — that means Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. I worked hard and numbers from those countries are down, but a narrow focus on Central America was a mistake when a lot of irregular migration — from around the world — was starting to occur via the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama. I’d have moved more quickly to address the human trafficking at the Darien Gap, and I’d have put more pressure, sooner, on countries to allow deportation flights from the U.S. — by the way, deportation flights to China resumed several months ago and that hasn’t gotten a lot of coverage.”

• Education: “Schools were closed too long during the pandemic, especially high schools. President Biden announced a school reopening goal in December 2020, but it only covered K-8 schools. That was a mistake. We should have more quickly reopened all schools for all children in January and February 2021. The education department should have aggressively worked with states, cities, and school districts struggling to reopen — and delivered clear expectations. I know some students didn’t return to their classrooms until August or September 2021, and I am incredibly frustrated that happened.”

• Health care: “President Biden campaigned on a public option in 2020, but didn’t fight for it once in office. I wish he had. I think Americans should be able to enroll in a public health insurance plan if they wish — that could mean buying into Medicaid — and, as part of improving and expanding the ACA, I want the federal government to encourage states to make public plans available on their exchanges. I think this is one way we could drive down deductibles and co-pays, which are far too high for too many Americans.”

• Crime: “Homicides surged during President Trump’s last year in office, and they’ve come down again, but other kinds of crime — theft, burglaries, disorderly behavior, even speeding and reckless driving — are still too high. After the summer of 2020, it was clear that police pulled back in some places. I would have convened a national policing summit and made clear that the laws in our cities and towns must be equitably and consistently enforced. I don’t think enough was done to restore trust between communities and police after the George Floyd protests. I would have made sure that the police felt empowered to do their jobs and protect Americans.”

• Middle East: “I’d have taken a firmer line with Prime Minister Netanyahu about rigorously upholding international and humanitarian law in Gaza — with not just words, but actions. Israel is an important ally and friend — they were right to strongly respond to the terrorist atrocities of October 7th — but part of showing we care about friends is intervening when they are making mistakes that may haunt them in the future.”

I invite Harris to borrow my language or use her own. With the election as close as it is, the vice president must be willing to take more risks to improve her standing with voters frustrated by Biden’s record. Go big or go home. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Ronald Klain whining? Harris’ most important task right now is to defeat Trump, not worry about Biden’s legacy and fragile ego.