Komm, Kamala, Komm and Save the Nation!

[thombergeron]

Y'all. Harris currently enjoys a 72% approval rating among Black Americans. It's only slightly lower than her 77% approval among Democrats. Black voters were lukewarm on Harris at the top of a ticket in a must-win election because they (rightly) suspected that America is still too racist and misogynist to elect a black woman to the Presidency.

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/1...rs-2020-075651

Harris is 57 years old and currently holds the highest elected office any woman has held in American history. If you're anti-Kamala, you better steel yourself because she's going to be bothering you for another couple decades or so.

[filghy2]

I don't know much about Kamala Harris, but I agree that woman in politics face double standards. I've never understood the degree of animus in the US towards Hillary Clinton. The most bizarre thing was the people saying they voted for Trump in 2016 because they couldn't stand Hillary's lies. A similar thing happened with Julia Gillard, Australia's first and only female Prime Minister. She was actually very effective in getting legislation through a hung parliament, but the common perception seemed to be that she was calculating and devious.

Many of the reasons people give for not liking these politicians seem like rationalisations. If they behave like a typical male politician they are criticised for being ruthless, calculating and devious. If they behaved in a more stereotypically feminine way many of the same people would no doubt complain that they were not strong and forceful enough to be a good leader.

[Stavros]

Two interesting posts above. I recall some of the ridicule Julia Gillard faced in Parliament, but don't know much else about her. As for Harris, the demographic points thombergon makes are similar to the ones I made in the OP. So it begs the question, is she the victim of a biased media -in the UK she doesn't have much support it seems- or does she really have problems of management with her staff and her 'Vision' if she has any?

There is so much to happen in the interim, not least the prospect that Trump will not be able to run for legal reasons, or like Putin he just likes tugging at people's egos. Then there is the prospect that Harris might be President sooner than we think... but let's not dwell on that now....

[Stavros]

I sometimes get the impression that it's not can Kamala save the Nation, but can anyone save Kamala? She seems to me to be level-headed, calm in a crisis, reasonable but maybe not the charisma that some people seem to need, as if Presidents must make rousing speeches to the masses.

She gave a considered and well-judged speech to the Munich Security Conference a few weeks, ago, and in this clip she demolishes the superficial nonsense of De Santis on Ukraine, a topic of which he knows nothing, indeed, his ignorance on a variety of important issues ought to raise concerns. It seems to me the logic of his position is to withdraw the US from NATO.

Anyway, some people here will have seen it, but I still think she can grow into the role and if Biden drops out or something else happens, it will be her opportunity to prove she can do it.

Kamala Harris Slams Ron DeSantis' Ukraine Statement (yahoo.com)

[Stavros]

By the little which can thus satisfy the human spirit, one can measure the extent of its loss (Hegel).

Good Luck America! You are going to need it.

[blackchubby38]

By the little which can thus satisfy the human spirit, one can measure the extent of its loss (Hegel).

Good Luck America! You are going to need it.

So I take it you didn't like her speech?

[Stavros]

So I take it you didn't like her speech?

Great speech, but is it enough? Now the shit will fly, indeed, Trump was borderline insane during the speech given the hysterical reaction as it unfolded. A grim portent of the next few months.

I guess the Convention speech is always more about tone and the story rather than policy details, and she has an engaging story that must resonate with a lot of Americans. She never really addressed the issues around immigration and the border; she did make important statements about Abortion which everyone knew she would, but did not make a strong statement about the 2nd Amendment and how to remove Battlefield Artillery from the streets. It was fine to make remarks about taxes and corporations, but that shadow called the National Debt is getting longer as the days get shorter. I appreciate her argument about Palestinian Self-Determination but it is not clear if this means a break with Netanyahu, if not Israel, though I assume she hopes Netanyahu will not be Prime Minister if and when she takes office in January 2025, something most people hope for.

The US, as we see it here, is not just a divided, but a bitterly divided country, and a week long pep talk doesn't change that, not least when Trump is planning an 'awards Gala' for Jan 6 rioters next month, a sad comment on how that kind of violence and contempt for the rule of law and Congress, has become normalized.
Trump will host an ‘awards gala’ for rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6 | The Independent

It now comes down to undecided voters in swing states, and how Trump and his friends handle the campaign from now on. But is it not possible that as in 2016, the Democrat will get most of the votes, but lose the Electoral College?

And the debate between the two next month will be worth watching, that's for sure.

[Stavros]

And of course I would appreciate your reaction to the Convention, and how you see the campaign(s) going from now to the 5th of November (which is Guy Fawkes night here in the UK, that moment when a band of men tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament -and failed).

[Stavros]

An interesting take on the Convention's 'message management' with the additional fact that the Biden Administration has delivered for both 'Progressives' in the party and if not the left, then in some cases, eg the environment, albeit via the Inflation Reduction Act, policies they approve of. The point being that what unites the Democrats appears to be stronger than what divides them.
The Hidden Reason Chicago Was Such A Rousing Success For Democrats (yahoo.com)

Yet Harris has been at the top of US politics, but did not present her own record of achievement as a way of arguing she is ready for the top job. But again, if this was all about image management, then she did what she had to, and one assumes she will defend her and Biden's record when the time comes for her to be questioned about it.

[MrFanti]

I do find it fascinating that someone who did so incredibly poorly in the primaries is now way out front.......
But then again, the Democrats didn't hold a process for nomination (Like Black Lives Matter wanted).....