The hours leading up to Vice President Kamala Harris’s Thursday night convention speech were filled with rampant speculation about a surprise guest. Some paranoid Trump Republicans were certain it was going to be former President George W. Bush selling out to the Democrats. Talk of Taylor Swift turning up in Chicago hit the betting markets. Others were betting on Beyonce’.
Despite the fact that some journalists actually filed inaccurate reports about Beyonce entering the building — an all-too-accurate reflection of the current state of the media — no big-name celebrities unexpectedly appeared at the DNC.
But a “surprise speaker” did show up: Kamala Harris.
Harris’ performance was surprisingly solid. She sounded confident, she largely avoided the cackle, and she delivered a well-crafted message to the pumped-up crowd.
Some CNN “journalists” called it one of the greatest convention speeches of all time, comparing it to Barack Obama’s legendary oration in Boston during the 2004 DNC gathering. Uh…no. (See previous comment about the state of the media.) There wasn’t a memorable line or rallying cry to be heard.
Then again, this is Kamala Harris, who has already given the world a disproportionate number of memorable lines — and not in a good way. A Venn diagram of Harris’ acceptance speech and the phrases “unburdened by what has been” or “significance of the passage of time” would have an empty center.
Kamala was competent. And with her record, that’s a win.
Most of the speech was pretty pedestrian: “I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said.
It’s the typical politician’s pledge of unity and respect across the aisle — this time from a member of the same administration that regularly smears Republican voters as hate-filled extremists who threaten democracy.
There was plenty of standard-issue political pooge in her 35-minute address, summed up by George H. W. Bush speechwriter John Podhoretz: “It really wasn’t very good. There wasn’t a single syllable anyone will ever remember. But it probably did the job.”
Harris’ best moment was, oddly, when she unloaded on the foreign policy front.
“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival,” Harris said.
And she took the aggressive step of calling out Iran, another surprise.
“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.
The net effect was to make Harris look determined and strong, a woman willing to take on America’s enemies: Hamas, Iran, and the Squad.
Critics complain the speech lacked policy specifics, but in fact Harris elaborated at length on the one policy that unites her party: Stopping Trump.
Former President (wait — he’s still president?) Joe Biden laid out the party’s priority in his convention speech: “In 2024, we need you to vote,” Biden said. “We need you to beat Donald Trump!”
Harris went after Trump again and again, sometimes smartly (“Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself”) and sometimes with shameless lies.
Harris denounced what she called Trump’s “explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy, his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens.” She said Trump “plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions.” All nonsense claims.
But Democrats are united in their support for Harris because, as yesterday’s UNH Survey Center poll showed, they have begun to believe she can beat Trump. And that’s the entire object of the 2024 election in their eyes.
Harris didn’t have to say “Medicare for all” or “net-zero emissions” or “Free Palestine!” or any of the usual progressive virtue signaling slogans, because progressives are on board with the mission: whatever it takes to stop Trump.
For weeks, Republicans have questioned whether Harris could handle the job of taking on Trump. It’s true that, thanks to a sycophantic press, she hasn’t had much of a job to handle. The media have done the heavy lifting thus far.
But with Thursday night’s speech, she assured Democrats that their presidential nominee can deliver a speech effectively, making powerful points without spinning off into conspiracy theories.
Can Republicans say the same?
“I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation. That inspired the world. That here, in this country, anything is possible,” Harris said. “Nothing is out of reach.”
A nice sentiment, delivered effectively on national TV.
Harris has done her part. The race begins now.
