same questions that were raised against Biden when he had a bad night: is Trump the same
man he was when president, is he slipping mentally if not physically, can he make it through the next four years? For a narcissist and authoritarian personality, such questions
strike at his power and will cause him to consider options for damage control. This may mean dumping Vance or keeping him but turning the base against him, as was the case with Pence. Either way, cracks appear that will leave the base wondering if not defecting.
Focusing on extremist views and such extremist tendencies, not to mention a general embrace of male chauvinism if not misogynism at the top of the ticket, Harris and her team could drive a wedge both between Trump and undecided voters and between Trump and Vance that would be sufficient for peeling off just enough votes to secure the election.
Reveal the Character, Temperament, and Practice Needed to Be President
Each fact, laid out in detail one upon the other in the prosecution of a case, woud go a long way in proving neither Trump nor Vance has the character, temperament, or the practices to be the enlightened leader one would wish of a president. But demonstrating the negative would not prove the positive: that Harris possesses such character, temperament, and practice. Harris must both in word and deed
demonstrate to the American people that, independent of Trump and Vance, she can act and lead responsibly. This requires she embrace her record, but also strike her own path. And this also means not just doing the bidding of wealthy donors, something which
she can parry given her demonstrated ability to
raise significant funds (some $300 million to date) from first time, individual donors.
To do this, Harris must not run from, but must acknowledge and defend, her record with the
Biden Administration – particularly, in terms of
foreign policy. However, she must also strike out to clearly articulate her own vision for America domestically, one which she has started to do: it is one which increasingly appears not only to defend and promote the rights of women and minorities but works to increase opportunities afforded by an expanded middle class. That is her story, her narrative, which she can speak to with passion and empathy as it is a personal journey that only she can convey. This is why American has chosen to embrace her so readily. Approaching the race and the Democrat’s message in this way, Harris reveals her character.
Equally, Harris must drive home the existential threat that Trump and Vance pose to the American Republic. She must continually focus on and emphasize facts, which will bring down the temperature in the room as facts – transparently presented – create a space where
conversations can take place without ideology or rhetoric. Establishing a position of credibility, Harris can then rely on her personality to counter the lies and insults and attempts at bullying her that will be made by Trump and Vance. A good example of her willingness to
engage in such an approach was demonstrated after Trump tried, after finding Harris starting to poll even with him, once again to engage in race-baiting before the National Association of Black Journalists. In an interchange with the interviewer, Trump said: “I didn't know she was
black, until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to
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Walz is a 'popular populist.' Viewed by all as a nice guy born with midwestern values, he possesses a quick wit and straight forward talk. He was the person who first labeled Trump and Vance as just "weird."