Well, the Democrats finally did it. After three nights of not getting to their headline speaker in primetime, when the largest TV audience is available, they finally got it right Thursday night. Kamala Harris was on stage and on the air at 9:30pm CT to give her official acceptance speech, and over the course of the next forty minutes, she hit a home run.
She re-introduced herself to America by telling her backstory and then building a strong case against Trump like the prosecutor she is. In doing so, she laid out some policy points, just enough to make clear the distinction between putting her in the Oval Office and the dangerous toxicity of a second Trump administration.
She and her fellow Democrats reclaimed patriotism, too. As Kamala said, “Our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is.” Meanwhile, the Dems were the ones waving flags, using Beyonce’s song “Freedom” as Kamala’s walk-on/walk-off music, and repeatedly chanting “USA! USA!” Republicans who aren’t hard-core MAGA Morons might have heard Trump calling her Comrade Kamala, but would have been hard pressed to find any evidence in her speech befitting that nickname.
As someone who’s done a lot of public speaking, I was impressed with how much Kamala’s skills have improved, including not letting the crowd’s chants and cheers interrupt her forward motion. I also liked that she did not frame hers as a woman’s candidacy or a first for a person of color. In fact, I didn’t hear many of the other speakers making that a central point of their speeches, either, because there was no need to state the obvious.
Based on the reaction shots of the crowd in the United Center, it’s clear the Democrats feel much more exuberant now than they would have if Biden had stayed in the race. His departure and Kamala’s ascension gave this campaign season a jolt of energy no one expected two months ago.
However, even with the polls leaning in her favor — and likely to get a bump of a couple more points now that the convention is over — it’s vitally important to remember she hasn’t won anything except her party’s nomination yet. This week was just a piece of the presidential political process and who knows how things might be shaken up in the next eleven weeks. Who knows what insanity might ensue when the candidates debate?
Even when we do get to Election Day, Kamala might need a landslide to overcome the underhanded electoral tampering Trump and his team have been plotting. For months, they have made moves in multiple states to manipulate procedures, suppress votes, pack state election boards with Trump acolytes, and perhaps deny certification when the counting is all done. There’s no way a winner will be declared on November 5th.
Bottom line: if you’re a Kamala Harris fan, it’s perfectly fine to feel exultant today — but don’t plan any victory parties yet. You can, however, take some solace in the fact that nearly everything Kamala says and does is hitting Trump right in his wounded ego and making him even crazier.
How ironic that the racist landlord has a woman of color living rent-free in his head.