The Register's editorial

Like many busy presidential candidates, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris needs a moment when she wakes up in the morning to remember what town she’s in. Like millions of Americans, she needs coffee.

She brought her own cup to a recent Sunday morning meeting with Des Moines Register writers and editors — before heading to speak at a church and then across Iowa for another event the same day.

Within minutes it became clear why she ascended from a lawyer to a prosecutor to the attorney general of California and ultimately to Washington, D.C. And it’s no surprise the Democrat who represents California is a formidable opponent in the race for president of the United States.

She is smart. She is compassionate. She understands complex issues. And she makes no apologies for being a bulldog who earned a reputation for being tough on wrongdoers, including gang members and drug traffickers.

“All communities want to be safe,” she said.

More:In cross-state bus tour, Kamala Harris works to alleviate concerns she's overlooking Iowa: 'I am absolutely committed' to Iowa

As the first female and African-American state attorney general, she prioritized addressing racial bias and ensuring procedural justice. She required her agents to wear body cameras — and keep them turned on all the time.

Her justification for going after parents and students to reduce truancy in California schools: The young men killed by gun violence had frequently been absent from class, even as elementary school students.

“So I took on the issue,” she said, which helped increase attendance.

This is not a woman who is afraid to take on issues, and while she was sometimes light on details about how she would accomplish her goals, she has an independence not commonly seen in candidates trying to cater to everyone.

As state attorney general, she refused to defend California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage and was eventually overturned.

When the administration of former President Obama pressured her to settle a nationwide lawsuit against mortgage lenders for unfair practices, she helped push California’s case for a judgment much higher than originally offered.

While she’s the last person you’d want to face off against in a courtroom, she’s among the first you'd want to invite to a family dinner. (During her family dinners as a child, she said, no one was allowed to eat before watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite.)

She laughs easily. She relates well with others, bantering about her visit to the Iowa State Fair where she had a pork chop. She uttered relatively few rehearsed one-liners, which was refreshing.

Harris said she’s running for president because she believes “we are better than this.”

She clarified “this” as what the country has witnessed from Donald Trump and his administration. The current leader, with a “fragile ego,” uses his microphone “in a way that has been about beating people down instead of lifting people up.”

Now the country has “tariffs by tweet,” farmers facing bankruptcy, immigrant children locked in cages, and a tax law that doesn’t help working families while increasing the federal deficit.

Harris said she is driven by middle-of-the-night thoughts that wake up Americans. Those transcend politics and include: personal health, the health of a family member, job security, funding retirement, paying for higher education, or a loved one’s opioid addiction.

“The vast majority of us have more in common than what separates us,” she said.

She supports a "Medicare For All" health care plan that would use both public and private insurers. She talked about the importance of investing in infrastructure, including helping ensure clean water for individual families with wells. She supports a tax credit for families earning less than $100,000 annually. She advocates higher teacher salaries and using federal grants to help people purchase homes, the greatest source of wealth for families.

“I believe Americans want a problem-solving president,” she said.

Harris certainly has the backbone and smarts to be that president.

— Andie Dominick

First impressions series: The Register has held initial "get-to-know-you" sessions with 10 Democratic presidential candidates so far:

Video:Sen. Michael Bennett meets with the Register's editorial board

Pete Buttigieg impresses on policy but needs to engage hearts, not just heads

Joe Sestak's life of public service extends from Navy to Congress to Des Moines' Econo Lodge

Andrew Yang deserves more voter attention

Seth Moulton's ideas are stronger than his campaign

John Hickenlooper is used to being underestimated

'Wonky' Kirsten Gillibrand shows a fierce passion for civil rights

Marianne Williamson offers spiritual guidance to the nation

John Delaney engaged our policy wonks but has work to do with those looking for flash