The Democratic Party of the United States, previously mired in resignation and doubts about its presidential campaign only a month ago, has showcased a display of optimism and energy this week. The National Convention, which concluded on Thursday in Chicago with the proclamation of its candidate, Kamala Harris, successfully positioned her as a solid and credible leader, fully supported by all corners of the vast ideological spectrum that the party encompasses, to face the massive task of convincing a portion of the country to vote for the vice president just 75 days before the elections. The Democrats filled hours and hours of television with messages centered around ideas of the future, freedom, tolerance, and patriotism, thus clearly delineating the contrasts with Donald Trump’s personal and vindictive campaign, and, above all, with a fractured Republican Party where blind loyalty to a chaotic leader is the only valid credential for admission.
The convention in Chicago will go down in history as a stunning display of political marketing. A packed pavilion for four nights, faces of hope, diversity, and a sea of patriotic colors flooded prime time and social media. All the Democratic stars were seen on stage, from the embodiment of the traditional establishment —Hillary Clinton— to the young leftist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as the usual contributions from the entertainment world. It was a succession of passionate speeches that reminded Democrats that in the past, they were capable of winning elections that no one believed they could win. Seeing Bill Clinton reminded them how he won against an incumbent president in the midst of a war, something unthinkable at the time. Barack Obama brought to mind how a young Black senator, relatively unknown with a Muslim name, defeated the entire party elite in a primary and then went on to beat two politically heavyweight Republican contenders. The motivational slogan making its way among Democrats these days is “When we fight, we win.”
That slogan has multiple layers of meaning in a party that was steeped in discouragement just a few weeks ago. The confidence in the campaign regarding Joe Biden’s superiority as a candidate against Donald Trump, whom he defeated by seven million votes in 2020, shattered after the debate where he presented a fragile image that left the world stunned. Convincing Biden to step down from seeking re-election was a high-risk political maneuver. The president delivered his own political epitaph on Monday, in a late-night speech where he dignifiedly defended the accomplishments of his term.
Harris was the obvious substitute by virtue of her position, but not for her political weight: she is a Black woman, unpopular as vice president, without a management resume, who failed in a Democratic primary and who provokes significant rejection among Republicans. But it is fair to acknowledge that she accepted from the very beginning the enormous responsibility of leading a campaign that, if it fails, will be judged harshly, while senators and governors with more clout than she held back their options for another occasion. In just a month, Trump’s disturbing lead in the polls has evaporated, and supporters’ money is flowing into the campaign at a rate of millions of dollars a day.
This Thursday, that story closed to open a new one, that of Harris as a candidate. The vice president accepted the nomination with the customary formula in the tenth minute of a striking one-hour speech. It was a textbook presentation: a woman, daughter of immigrants, who knows firsthand the life conditions associated with skin color in the U.S., district attorney in San Francisco and then California attorney general, concerned with equality of opportunity and fundamental rights. Harris managed to convey that elusive idea of what is typically American and emerged with the same feeling of hope that Obama achieved in 2008. Likewise, her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, delivered an excellent speech as a middle-class family man for all audiences: exactly what was sought in him.
A display of optimism like that of Chicago is no small achievement for a party that has come from an unprecedented catharsis in modern American politics. However, the inertia of the unquestionable image success of this convention is limited. The final stretch of the campaign begins now, and Harris’s lack of experience will start to become apparent. The candidate is very strong on one major issue: the defense of women’s reproductive rights. This is a crucial matter in this campaign, after half of the U.S. is witnessing a half-century rollback in abortion protections due to Trump and the Supreme Court. But neither in her speech this Thursday nor in her public appearances has she delved into defending an economic plan beyond statements about support for the middle class. Regarding the Gaza war, an issue that divides Democrats, she merely reiterates Biden’s position. She has not held a single press conference or interview in a month, meaning she has not answered independent questions. For now, Harris has the right to campaign defending Biden’s legacy without being Biden. She has shown herself capable of revitalizing her party and embodying a message of the future. Now it is time for her to start specifying what that future consists of.