From pop-star to policy wonk? Vibes are over, time now for the issues

DEMOCRATS concluded their electrifying national convention in Chicago on Thursday (Aug 22) night with their presidential candidate Kamala Harris trying to provide a clear case to voters of what she stands for and why they should send her to the White House.

The four days of the convention amounted to a “media event” – a made-for-television production in which Harris played the leading role. She was the star of the show and her personal background as a woman of colour and daughter of immigrants, who seemed to have achieved the American dream, helped to highlight the Democratic narrative with its set of ideas and impulses on how to achieve change and opportunity, and on “not going back” – that is, being set on the future.

Harris’ campaign flooded social media with positive messages about the vice-president and her running mate, Tim Walz, as they accepted their party’s nomination by, among other things, inviting some 200 “influencers” with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram to cover the convention.