Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have chosen an compelling strategy for their presidential victory. The campaign is characterized by a striking change in tone and strategy: they are projecting an image of positivity and joy.
It seems that the media has already received the memo and is actively contributing brand the Harris/Walz campaign as “happy warriors” fighting for the American people. It’s an compelling approach, but will it be enough to secure a victory for Harris?
When Harris announced Walz as her running mate in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the two candidates were pursuing a more positive message. “We are joyful warriors,” Harris declared to thunderous applause from the crowd. “Because we know that while fighting for a better future can be hard work, hard work is good.”
Walz agreed and thanked Harris for “bringing the joy back.”
The message seemed to resonate with the crowd. The audience responded with chants such as “VP Walz!” and “We are not going back!”, according to the Washington Examiner.
The aptly named Charles Blow in a Opinion piece for the New York Times commented on the bullish tone of the Harris/Walz campaign. “But when Biden stepped down and Democrats rallied around Harris, a new possibility was suddenly born: Voters wary of another Donald Trump presidency could trade fear for optimism,” he wrote.
Blow emphasized the reason for the optimism and stressed: “[e]The election of a second black president, who would of course also be the first woman and the first Asian American president, would be an opportunity to demonstrate progress and empowerment not only of black voters but of the entire Democratic coalition – the entire country.”
During Tuesday’s rally, Harris stressed that she and her running mate “believe in uplifting people, not tearing them down.” She emphasized that “the vast majority of people in our country have so much more in common than what divides them.”
Harris’ strategy appears to be a calculated attempt to offer a refreshing alternative to Trump’s combative and bombastic campaign demeanor. The former president is known for his fiery, aggressive rhetoric and penchant for foul language. It’s an approach that has grown in popularity on both sides of the aisle over the past decade.
In fact, Walz himself used this strategy when he developed the left’s bizarre tactic of calling Republicans “weird.” Now the campaign seems to believe that a more bullish tone will win them more voters than getting too deep into the mud.
It’s a bold move, especially in a political environment where both sides are constantly trying to “take over” the other. But if that strategy is to work, Harris will have to temper it with concrete actions. She doesn’t have nearly the charisma of former President Barack Obama, who knew how to move a crowd.
Businessman Kevin O’Leary commented on the matter during an appearance on FoxNews. “In the next two weeks, the happy talk will have to stop because someone will sit down with her and say, ‘Let’s talk about inflation, let’s talk about borders, let’s talk about energy policy. Let’s talk about foreign policy,'” he said:
“If she wants to win, she has to go to the center. But she has to have ideas about how she wants to run the country. You can hate Trump, but he has a certain political track record. You can hate him. I understand that. But you have to do something.”
This is where Harris will really be tested. At some point she will have to come back down to earth and formulate real political solutions to the problems facing Americans. A Tony Robbins-style campaign can only succeed if the public sees her as someone who can improve people’s lives.
The problem, of course, is that Harris is part of the very administration that has caused many of the hardships facing Americans today. Voters are concerned about inflation, jobs, education, immigration, crime and numerous other issues. President Joe Biden has done little to address these problems.
Whether it’s fair or not, Biden’s record on the campaign trail is now Harris’s. She will have to explain how she plans to pull the nation out of the mess it’s currently in, while distracting people from the fact that she was part of the problem.
Still, the “happy warrior” strategy is a astute approach. It’s another reason why the Trump campaign shouldn’t underestimate its opponents. Focusing on issues like Harris’ race, who she slept with, and other side issues is not going to be a winning strategy for Team Trump. The best they can do is focus on policy and force Harris and Walz to defend their untenable records while they craft their own vision for the country.
