Here’s what Kamala Harris owes to Walter Mondale

Upon the death of former vice president Walter “Fritz” Mondale last week, Vice President Harris remarked that Mondale’s signature in her desk drawer, along with that of 11 other vice presidents, will always remind her of her gratitude for his life of service.

But Harris won’t see Mondale’s signature very often because that desk sits in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. And Mondale’s foremost contribution to the vice presidency was reshaping the position from a primarily ceremonial role into a position of influence, which included a physical move from the ceremonial office to the West Wing.