I’d like to say I predicted Kamala Harris would be the first female US president, but I didn’t quite

Ten years ago, I spotted a remarkably Blairite candidate for the office of California’s attorney general, writes John Rentoul

Everyone knows 14 vice presidents have become presidents (AFP/Getty)

When blogging was having its brief day in the sun, 10 years ago, I wrote a short post on the Independent’s Eagle Eye site. All it said was: “Kamala Harris has just been elected attorney general of California. She has written an article headlined ‘Smart on crime’. You read it there first. Space, watch this.”

I have no idea why I wrote “watch this space” in the wrong order, but you get the message. And I wrote “you read it there first” instead of “you read it here first” because the “there” was a link to Politico, then a new US online-only journalism company.

My post was merely drawing attention to what the Politico article, by Ben Smith, called the “growing buzz among Democrats about Kamala Harris”. Smith called her a “rising political star” and quoted predictions of a bright future. “She’s a rare talent who will be a national figure shortly,” said Chris Lehane, a former Clinton aide.