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DOUGLAS MURRAY
Hopey-changey, smiley, brighty-futurey…but still no clue what President Kamala might actually do
Thursday night’s speech was closely watched in the hope we would find out what the Vice President might actually do as president
THE US Democratic Party held its convention in Chicago this week.
And there is one main takeaway – they could actually win in November.
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Even a few weeks ago, this seemed impossible.
Donald Trump was running against Joe Biden.
And at their first (and only) debate, it was clear Ol’ Joe was not all there.
But he refused to leave the race and insisted he had another four years in him.
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The party top brass disagreed and, like a bunch of mobster bosses, told him to retire gracefully. Or else.
One reason Joe had stuck around so long was that there was no obvious successor.
There was no way that Kamala Harris could be president, was there?
Certainly no way to stop the first female black Vice President from running if she wanted to.
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Then, in the space of a few days, the unthinkable became reality.
Kamala wanted the top job. She clearly thought she was qualified for it.
And so Kamala it was.
Caitlin Hornik reacts to VP Harris's DNC Speech on Times Radio
This whole week in Chicago was one big run-up to her crowning.
Democrat leaders from the past all flew in to praise her.
Barack and Michelle Obama took to the convention stage. As did another happy couple — Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The convention was also washed through with celebrities.
Singer Pink was among the pop acts to perform in the run-up to Kamala’s big speech.
TV host Oprah Winfrey sprinkled her stardust on the convention by making a keynote speech in which she presented herself as an example of the little guy whose sufferings she understands.
Sprinkled stardust
But it was Kamala that everyone was there for.
In her speech on Thursday night, she officially accepted the Democrat nomination for the presidency of the United States.
And it was a reminder that in all the weeks since she became the Democrat candidate, something remarkable has happened.
She has been silent. Not totally silent. She has still done the occasional rally and given the odd stump speech.
But she has not answered one question nor sat down for any interviews with the media.
It is a remarkable thing, that. Perhaps she learned it from Keir Starmer.
Learned from Starmer
After all, Starmer managed to float into office in July on a wave of saying absolutely nothing about what he was going to do in government.
Perhaps if he had said what he was planning, his opinion ratings before the election would have been as bad as they are now, after it.
And he wouldn’t want that, would he?
But even Sir Keir didn’t completely avoid the media during his slide into office.
Kamala, on the other hand, has realised that there is one thing she needs above all.
Which is not to appear in front of the media.
Not to answer any questions. Not to be put in a position where her flaws show.
Thursday night’s speech was closely watched in the hope we would find out what the Vice President might actually do as president.
We didn’t find out.
As usual with Kamala, there was a lot of hopey-changey stuff.
Like someone doing an impression of a fluent public speaker, she tried to reach some emotional highs. But the actual content? There wasn’t any.
As in her speeches as Vice President for the past four years, Kamala did a lot of vague stuff about the direction of travel of her country.
America must go forwards
She insisted, as usual, that America must go forwards, not backwards.
And she added detail by saying that America should go forwards into the future and not backwards into the past.
But aside from that it was hard to see what meat was added at all.
She managed to avoid any absolute gaffes.
Most importantly, she had clearly been told by her advisers that whatever happened, under no condition was she to start laughing.
Especially not at one of her own “jokes”.
One of the most off-putting things about Kamala Harris is her tendency to break into nervous laughter at the strangest of times and then not be able to stop.
Democrats have spent recent weeks trying to reframe this as trendy “brat” behaviour, or just “joy”.
But it comes across as deeply weird. As if Kamala may have had one too many glasses of wine that morning.
So she didn’t burst into her weird cackle. But nor did she bust out any policies.
She said that she would solve things such as the cost-of-living crisis.
But there was no plan for doing so.
Deeply unserious
Meanwhile, the convention saw her VP pick, Tim Walz, being tried out before the nation.
And we have no more idea what he would do in the White House than we have an idea of what Kamala would do.
Like her, he is careful to say nothing of substance.
All while throwing about bland statements about his service in the national guard and work as a high school sports coach.
The idea that Kamala could just glide into office on this wave is genuinely scary.
She is applying for the most serious job in the world and is a deeply unserious candidate.
If there is one flaw which the Republicans should push at, it is this.
Kamala Harris has been in the second most important position in the world for the past four years.
So how come the world is in such a mess?
She has been at the top decision-making levels on the economy and the border for the past four years.
So how come both are in such disarray?
If she knows what needs fixing now, why did she not fix it in the past four years?
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These and many more questions hover over Kamala. Or should do.
Just don’t expect her to answer them.
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