Having a Chance Has Changed the Democrats

Stephanie McCrummen: “In the long, sweaty line for Vice President Kamala Harris’s Philadelphia rally yesterday, people said they were happy she’d chosen Tim Walsh as her running mate. They were glad about Tim Wentz, and truly thrilled with the man whose actual name is Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor whom most people were just now getting to know.”

Said one attendee: “She chose the least threatening person. He’s a soft glove, and he’s a good guy. I don’t mind Katz at all.”

“The point was that after a whirlwind two weeks in which President Joe Biden dropped out and Harris stepped in, rallied an uncertain party, raised gobs of money, and threw a confident Trump campaign into disarray, the new Democratic nominee had once again done what the political moment required: She had chosen an affable, midwestern white man who might reassure voters inclined to stereotypes. The Democratic ticket was complete. The campaign was on. Fresh Harris-Walz signs were being handed out. And just beyond the doors of the arena, the familiar chords of Chic’s ‘Good Times’ were playing. With 90 days until the election, the overall mood was trending toward astonished giddiness.”