To appreciate the contrast between the Republican and Democratic national conventions, one need only look at their delegate vote tallies.
In the old days, when American party conventions were truly decisive, the roll call was the most anticipated and dramatic moment.
Today, it is a formality of little interest, unless a party wants to signal that its campaign will be anything but boring.
Moods at the antipodes
What is striking about the campaign led by Kamala Harris is the festive and jovial spirit that emerges from it, a clear break with the gloomy mood of the Democrats before her nomination.
This new mood was evident during the traditional roll call. The formality was transformed into a party as celebrity DJ Cassidy got delegates dancing to a signature tune from each state.
From hip-hop to Puerto Rican pop and from Dolly Parton to Bruce Springsteen, including a live performance by rapper Lil Jon, there was something for everyone. Besides that, the roll call The Republicans looked like a meeting of a golden age club infiltrated by Morin Code obsessives.
Contrasts that stand out
The Republican convention didn’t go badly, but the mood was more triumphal than celebratory. Since Biden’s departure, that triumphalism has turned into gloom and fearmongering.
At the same time, Democrats have abandoned their own fear campaign to bet, in Michelle Obama’s witty words, on a “return of hope.”
The Republican convention revealed a dislocated party, with no former president, vice president or former presidential candidate in attendance. All the Democratic big guns are in Chicago.
While the Republican convention celebrated toxic masculinity and antediluvian “family values,” Democrats are banking on an egalitarian vision of gender relations and the belief that when it comes to personal choices, politicians should “mind their own damn business.”
So, the Democrats are proposing an imperfect but moderate government program that is in tune with the expectations of the majority, while the Republicans are promising to follow the broad outlines of the very unpopular Project 2025 to put the State at the service of a vengeful autocrat.
Warning signs
The Democratic convention shows encouraging signs for the rest of Harris’ campaign.
While Biden was essentially counting on the fear of a new Trump term to make us forget the failings of his term, Harris is refocusing the message on the future.
Trump will no longer be presented as a danger but rather as a politician weirdcorny and laughable.
The Democratic convention has successfully struck a tone that will allow it to appropriate the message of change, not because Trump’s return is frightening but because the average American is simply fed up with what he represents.
It’s not a foregone conclusion, but the Democratic convention shows that the Harris campaign has struck the right tone to maximize enthusiasm among its own supporters and to encourage median voters to join the party rather than continue to follow a showman on the decline become boring.
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