By Anthony Zurcher
Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday night, delivering a speech which hit the key notes her campaign wanted – but had only rare moments of soaring rhetoric and broke little new ground. The ground-breaking was in the nature of the nominee herself the first woman of colour to become a major party’s presidential nominee.
“Never let anyone tell you who you are,” Ms Harris said. “You show them who you are.” But for roughly 45 minutes on Thursday, she tried to tell Americans who she is – and what she would do if she wins the White House. Here are four takeaways from her convention-closing remarks. 1. Harris promoted her middle class roots Many Americans know who Ms Harris is, but not many know what she believes in or details of her background. First and foremost, her convention speech set out to change that.
She recounted her mother’s journey as an immigrant from India. She spoke about how her parents met – and how they ultimately divorced. She talked about her childhood upbringing in a working-class neighbourhood in Oakland, California. “The middle class is where I come from,” she said. “My mother kept a strict budget. We lived within our means. Yet, we wanted for little. And she expected us to make the most of the opportunities that were available to us.” Ms Harris also spoke of why she chose to become a lawyer – and a prosecutor. She drew a line from her early days in the courtroom to her public services as a politician. “My entire career, I have only had one client,” she said. “The people.”
2. A vision for the future – with few details. Ms Harris’s speech included calls for unity and a pathway beyond the “bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles” of modern American politics. She said that the US had a “precious, fleeting” opportunity to “chart a new path Forward.” But that chart had few details. Vague calls for unity and a path beyond partisanship are rhetoric many presidential hopefuls have used in the past.
When Ms Harris did turn to policy details, she spoke in generalities. She said she will be focused on lowering the costs of “everyday needs” – including healthcare, housing and groceries. She specifically called out abortion rights and framed it as a means of preserving freedom, which has been a recurring theme at this Democratic convention. “America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially about matters of heart and home,” she said. Ms Harris, in her speech, styled herself as a centre-left moderate, putting little daylight between her policies and those of her boss, the man she hopes to replace, Joe Biden. “Everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation ready to move forward,” she said. “Ready for the next step, in the incredible journey that is America.” The exact details of that step, however, are to be determined.
