evidence: "It’s an audience-tailoring thing, and there’s nothing wrong with that," said Neil Makhija, a Montgomery County commissioner in Pennsylvania, the president of Indian American Impact and a longtime Harris ally who established an award named for her mother. "It’s just part of connecting with people." A person inside the Harris campaign who agreed to talk about this only if identified in that limited way told me the words the would-be president has used to talk about her mother stand on their own and speak for themselves but that generally she aims to portray her and her story as "uniquely American" — itself an interesting melding because it labors to express distinctiveness and sameness at the same time. It’s understandable — and still sort of a shame. Because the story of Shyamala Gopalan is a testament to something that’s made this country, and made it great, for going on 250 years. [...] I was a little surprised to hear this from him. Duran has been a public critic of Harris, citing what he considered a penchant for indecision and a demanding management style that could sap staff morale. "But I think the goodness that I see in Kamala Harris comes from her background, comes from what she represents," he told me.