Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said you campaign in poetry; you govern in prose. The lyricism of Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is apparent, shining as her speeches and rallies speak more to ideals than ideas. Less clear are the exact words she intends to transfigure into law, should she be sworn in next January. In part, this is because Harris is unique in recent presidential history, having been catapulted into a general election without first having spent the previous months competing for attention, donors and votes in a primary field. Rather than having her stand out in a crowd and then unify the party, her ascension compressed that effort into a dense, hot few weeks in July and August. Her attention is now fully on barnstorming the purple areas of swing states, focused less on appeasing the progressive base of the party than on winning over whichever voters are still making up their minds about how to vote in November — or if at all. This is a preview of Hayes Brown's latest article. Read the full column here. |
