No Longer an Eat-Your-Vegetables Campaign

New York Times: “The last Democratic presidential campaign that produced party-wide, unencumbered enthusiasm was Barack Obama’s in 2008. His 2012 re-election was a slog, followed by Hillary Clinton’s often perfunctory 2016 bid and Mr. Biden’s consensus-minded and Covid-interrupted 2020 run.”

“The 2024 Biden experience was on track to be another eat-your-vegetables campaign for Democratic voters. But once he dropped out and Ms. Harris took charge, 16 years of waiting for new inspiration came rushing out, seemingly all at once.”

“Gone were Mr. Biden’s low-energy, small-room stops where he mumbled off script. Last week, the Harris-Walz rollout included a drum line in Philadelphia, a hipster folk band in Wisconsin and the largest Democratic campaign rally since the Obama days in Detroit.”