news

US media: Harris's difficult time has just begun

2024-08-24

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Reference News reported on August 24 On August 22, the Washington Post published an article titled "Democrats helped Harris take off strongly, and now the harder part comes", written by Karen Tamaldi. The article is excerpted as follows:

Just over a month ago, Republicans held their coronation in Milwaukee. Their stage had a single star, and the others served only to highlight the extraordinary glory of Donald Trump.

This week, when it was the Democrats’ turn, they assembled a roster that included two former presidents and a sitting president, and they inserted young stars into prime-time appearances, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland.

The Democrats’ new energy comes from the dramatic turn of events they have experienced over the past four weeks, as they watched President Biden abandon his struggle to run for reelection and Harris take over with an ease few could have predicted.

Of course, even the most successful presidential nominating conventions are only temporary highs. The fact remains that this election is extremely close, so close that the final outcome may depend on a small number of voters in a small number of states.

Presenting herself as “a new way forward” (to use a convention slogan) is a difficult feat for the sitting vice president. According to a recent Gallup poll, eight in 10 Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is heading, and Republicans will do everything they can to pin that dissatisfaction on Harris.

Helping, of course, is Harris’s identity as a black woman of South Asian descent, which itself represents a break with the past. Her record as a prosecutor also works in her favor, given that her opponent was convicted of 34 felonies.

Harris also redefined the cornerstone of the election. Biden built his campaign’s core slogan around the dark threat Trump posed to our democracy; Harris’s slogan of choice is “freedom.” Given that so many Republicans have been campaigning on that concept for years, it smacks of political appropriation.

Yes, all of this has to be done in a tight time frame. But with just 75 days until the election, the campaign must soon offer more than rhetoric and resonance to convince voters to vote for it. Harris' economic plan, presented shortly before the Democratic convention, lacked concrete content. She offered few clues as to whether or how her foreign policy would differ from Biden's.

Harris and her rejuvenated party have sketched out the broad outlines of what they believe they can contribute to the country moving forward. Now they must flesh it out with detail.