The Democrats seem to have learned their lesson. Left wingers in the United States have benefitted from the minority rule bestowed on them for the last 50 years by the First Past the Post electoral system, and they have become a bit too big for their britches. They have used this time in power to move their country far ahead of its colonial past, and far ahead of a large number of its less educated, less liberal voters.
The right wing was finally able to use Donald Trump to turn all that on its head and attempt a return to the bad old days. Fortunately Trump — as expected — turned the political arena into a reality television series, and it looks like the American public is finally getting tired of the histrionics.
The big takeaway from the Democratic National Convention was a desire to get back to traditional politics with a strong, honourable candidate, and a refusal to believe that the Democrats are anything but underdogs.
Kamala’s Objective
All commentators noted that Ms. Harris has one main task in the next few months. She has to create the kind of voter recognition that a normal campaign gives the candidate almost a year to develop. She has to quickly take charge of the creation of her own image before the Republicans have a chance to make up their own version.
Her speech on Thursday night did a good job of that on a personal level. She presented herself as a strong but friendly, straightforward person. There is no drama to be gleaned from her life. The only soft target presented was her running mate’s handicapped son, and any attempts by Republicans to capitalize on that blew up in their faces.
Now she has to present her platform in a similar rush. She must tread a careful line, depending on the same old Biden/Harris policies of the last administration to keep those loyal voters. But not too heavily, branching out with new ideas to attract new voters, but not too new because she is trying to edge towards the middle of the spectrum.
Palestine
The preponderance of Middle Eastern voters in the swing states means also walking softly between the traditional Jewish financial support of the Democrats and the need to support the Palestinians for the votes they represent. A quick end to the war would make a great deal of difference to that objective.
Soft Republicans
Another objective Harris had in her speech was to give Republicans who don’t like Trump (and there are a lot of them) an excuse to vote for her. The promise to be a President “for all Americans” was a step in the right direction, but it won’t be enough to sway real GOP members. However, if it affects the Independents who usually vote Right, it might be enough. If it allows the less faithful to stay home on election day, it will have done its job.
The Bottom Line
As happened with Barrack Obama, the key factor in this election will be who gets out the vote. The Republicans have been free with their threats of the ultra-left socialists. Harris has started a similar fear campaign about Democrats being underdogs. Given her meteoric rise in the polls, this is pretty ingenuous, but it might work. The strength of her social media presence will also help attract younger voters, who had been leaning Right in recent polls.
In the Long Run
Americans have long felt the lack of traditional social idols, and the media have slipped into that vacancy. They treat their movie stars like royalty, and their election process like football playoffs. When the country finally matures, they will start treating politics as something more than entertainment. Let’s hope that development is starting now.