Vice President Kamala Harris waves after disembarking Air Force 2 on April 18, 2022. PHOTO: KENT NISHIMURA / LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY
Presidential campaigns are made of stories and this one just drastically changed.
Energy and maturity can beat old age and mental instability. Of that I am certain.
The previous story that had taken hold in this presidential season had become one the GOP was telling of Biden’s age and mental unfitness and their candidate’s steadfastness after an assassination attempt.
Within a day, that has all changed. President Biden announced he is dropping out of the race for president, and he has endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris. Now readiness and wisdom can be contrasted with, frankly, mental instability and criminality.
I look forward to seeing the Kamala Harris of the debates for the Democratic nomination the last time around. I’d like to see her go for the jugular again. She absolutely eviscerated others on the stage with her, especially Joe Biden. The fact that Biden still chose her for Vice-President after that actually impressed me.
Yes, Democrats need to hammer on Trump’s many failings. He is a convicted felon, he breaks the law, dismisses the Constitution, he lies almost every time he opens his mouth. When he was president, many Americans died needlessly from his mishandling of the Covid pandemic.
It is clear that Trump and his followers plan to rip this country to shreds as they have revealed in Project 2025. I have previously written that this plan is downright evil.
But it is a mistake, in my view, to focus too much on the Trump horrors. Instead, we must tell a really good story about families and communities thriving, economic equality increasing, our planet healing and our vibrant nation increasing democracy not only at home but around the world. Stories capture our emotions in ways that lists of policies do not.
A new narrative should build on the Biden/Harris accomplishments, but it must be framed in such a compelling way people will want to live into that story.
I really hope the Democrats can seize this moment and make sure Trump and his minions never ever get anywhere near the White House again.
Good stuff there, Mary. I feel mildly optimistic.
Yes, precisely. There is so much that is positive in this country-- a warm welcome for new neighbors (AKA immigrants), deep respect for Black women who who have been the moral compass this decade, support for those who need pregnancy services where none are available, nonviolence on the upswing, rejection of toxic masculinity by people of all genders, and so much more. Let's tell those stories and rejoice that despite the uphill struggle we persist. And there are lots of us.