What Kamala Needs to Accomplish Tonight

As the Democratic National Convention got underway in Chicago, there were pretty clearly four overriding objectives that Kamala Harris and her team needed to accomplish: (1) Keep up the enthusiasm and momentum she had generated since she became the presumptive nominee; (2) execute a clean turn of the page from Joe Biden’s leadership that left Harris as a credible candidate of “safe change” from the stale Biden-Trump contest of the past; (3) remind voters of the “unsafe change” represented by Trump and J.D. Vance; and (4) avoid distractions, whether it was from protesters or errors in executing the convention plan.

The first three days of the convention have addressed all four of these objectives to varying degrees. Certainly the convention has more than adequately kept up the vibe-and-memes feel that has characterized Harris ’24 so far, from the dance-party roll call of the states to the semi-surprise of Oprah’s appearance to the excited staging of Tim Walz’s acceptance speech. The hand-off from Biden was handled smoothly on the first night, with the Obamas deftly turning the page, along with some reinforcement from Bill Clinton and Nancy Pelosi (among others) later on. At the same time, some progress was made in re-presenting Harris as a figure very much unlike the “radical leftist” the Trump campaign will incessantly call her (and Walz, for that matter). Without question, the convention has generated lots of meme-worthy new attacks on Trump and Vance that build on the contrast between a practical and relatable Democrat and a cranky and extremist GOP, particularly on the issue of reproductive rights, on which newly confident Democrats are now roaring. And for the most part the convention has deftly handled the threat of protests without being too heavy-handed. The main “distraction” has probably been a not-atypical struggle to keep the convention on time; the importance of keeping the big moment in a prime-time East Coast “window” has probably been exaggerated, but it would be a good sign for a party conveying self-discipline to make sure things are punctual on the last day.

To a considerable extent, Harris herself just needs to seal the deal on the work already done by her convention. And of the four big objectives, the one that definitely needs the most reinforcement tonight is the effort to explain exactly how much change and how much continuity she will offer as president. This doesn’t just mean autobiographical flourishes about her values and experience in California and in Washington; it also means giving significantly more detail about her agenda, in part to inspire Democrats but more importantly to assure swing voters that she’s neither Biden 2.0 nor any sort of “radical leftist.” Other speakers have helped reinforce her self-presentation as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, a patriot, and a deeply grounded, empathetic leader who listens to people well beyond the party base. But she needs to say more about how she intends to address the policy challenges on which Biden was so vulnerable and in which Republicans smell blood, namely the economy and the border. This doesn’t mean the kind of bullet-pointed agenda that Bill Clinton was so famous for in his big speeches. But it does mean a lot more specificity than you get from vibe-and-memes messaging, and perhaps a few things that party activists won’t want to hear. Their (mild) discomfort can be electoral gold with voters suspicious of both major parties.

Yes, it would be great if Harris delivers some signature phrases, deploys some fabulous zingers at Trump, and looks polished and poised. But basics matter more: This is her first big “second look” from an interested but potentially skeptical electorate, and it needs to be impressed. Only then will the next 75 days look like a sprint rather than a slog.