“Of course people get motivated about voting against somebody. But when they’re as motivated or more motivated about voting for somebody, there’s magic there.”

— David Plouffe, quoted by Politico.

James Carville: “If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s a train wreck. That’s why we’re addicted to ‘Dance Moms’ and the ‘Real Housewives’ franchise. Just over two months ago, we witnessed one in real time, and it led to the humane revolt against a sitting president’s re-election campaign by his own party. I guarantee a lot of voters are salivating for a second round. Only this time, Mr. Trump must be the train wreck, and it’s on Ms. Harris to lay the tracks.”

“I’ve always believed that one good joke is worth 100 fact-checks. By and large, Ms. Harris is diverging from the normal fear-provoking way of going about Mr. Trump; instead of building him up as a threat to America, she’s getting voters chuckling and nodding by saying of the former president and his crew, ‘They are out of their minds.’ People smile when they think a politician has her opponent’s number, and they like that she’s calling him weird and unserious and painting a broader picture of Mr. Trump as a tired old tapestry. And we already have some indication her team is prepping her to do just this.”

“In the Sept. 10 debate, Ms. Harris must enable exactly what his campaign is scared to death of: letting Trump be Trump. She should let him talk over her. Not just let him but goad him into spouting insane conspiracy theories about the previous election. She should use her sense of humor at key moments to get under his skin and show he’s not getting to her. And she should welcome the personal attacks as a badge of honor. And each time, no matter how many times he does it, respond with this refrain: It’s the same old tired playbook, and I’m focused on a new way forward.”

The polling averages all show Kamala Harris with a lead:

• RealClearPolitics: Harris +1.8 points
• 538: Harris +3.2 points
• Nate Silver: Harris +3.5 points
• The Economist: Harris +3.5 points

CNN: “In recent days, the ex-president has unveiled a broad assault using the insult-driven politics with which he won power in 2016, even as his advisers have been pleading with him to focus his attention on top voter concerns including high prices and immigration.”

“He is seizing on foreign tragedies to accuse the vice president of responsibility for the deaths of US troops in Afghanistan and claiming she’s complicit in killings of hostages in Gaza. He and his running mate, JD Vance, implied her mixed race — heritage that millions of Americans share — is evidence of a sinister “chameleon”-like character that also explains policy reversals on energy and immigration. In an ugly moment, he amplified a sexually themed social media slander against her. And his dark campaign ads allege she will slash Social Security benefits by welcoming millions of undocumented migrants to the country.”

“And in a reprise of past GOP campaigns branding Democratic nominees as extreme liberals, Trump and his supporters are trying to frame Harris as a communist and a ‘Bolshevik.’”

Playbook: “Trump remains stuck where he has been for weeks: with no killer attack on Harris that has crystalized, no signs of a rebound in the polls, and public events where he still talks a lot about Biden, who has not been his opponent for more than six weeks.”

Politico: “If Harris doesn’t falter next week, there’s reason to believe that she may be uniquely positioned to expand her numbers with swing voters in key states. Unlike Biden or Trump — one president and one former president, and both fixtures in politics for years — Harris’ candidacy is so new that a quick introduction, followed by comparatively minimal vetting by the electorate, may benefit her.”

Said Democratic strategist David Plouffe: “She’s the one with room to grow. The Trump of ‘16, voters wanted to know more about him. Now, when Trump goes out there and campaigns and does interviews, it’s questionable how helpful it is. With Harris, it’s very helpful. We have a market of voters out there who want to know more about her.”

“The enthusiasm Harris has ignited — all the more apparent coming after months of tepid support for Biden — has reminded some Democrats of Obama’s 2008 run, which many described as more of a movement than a mere political campaign.”

Playbook: “Barring events, there’s not a whole lot on the calendar for the coming week that seems likely to shift the basic dynamics of the race.”

“Years before he became the Republican vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance endorsed a little-noticed 2017 report by the Heritage Foundation that proposed a sweeping conservative agenda to restrict sexual and reproductive freedoms and remake American families,” the New York Times reports.

“In a series of 29 separate essays, conservative commentators, policy experts, community leaders and Christian clergy members opposed the spread of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, describing those treatments as harmful to women. They praised the rapidly expanding number of state laws restricting abortion rights and access, saying that the procedure should become ‘unthinkable’ in America. And they cited hunger as a “great motivation” for Americans to find work.”

Politico: “The leader of House Republicans’ biggest super PAC told donors last month he needed $35 million more to compete with Democrats in the fall. Senate GOP campaign chair Steve Daines used his primetime speaking slot at the Republican convention to lament that massive spending from Democrats was keeping him awake at night. And his House GOP counterpart warned that their party’s challengers trailed Democratic incumbents by a collective $37 million at the end of June.”

“Republicans were already worried about a glaring financial gap even before Kamala Harris’ rise. Now, with the election just two months away, they found themselves in an even more dire position: Democrats have seen a flood of enthusiasm in recent weeks, they’re far outspending Republicans on air and their donors are more energized than ever — with campaign finance data showing a surge in grassroots fundraising in late July after President Joe Biden dropped out.”

“Panic is starting to set in.”

“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris joined forces on the campaign trail Monday in the marquee union town of Pittsburgh, making the case that their administration’s record on labor would again lift workers if Harris were sent to the White House,” NBC News reports.

“It was a Labor Day showing in a battleground state on what is traditionally the political kickoff to the fall campaign season. But it was a tradition bypassed by President Donald Trump, who in an unusual move did not hit the trail either Sunday or Monday.”

“President Biden gave a demonstration on Monday that the Democratic Party now belongs to Vice President Kamala Harris, stepping to the microphone at a campaign event in Pittsburgh to introduce his No. 2 rather than taking the speaking slot of honor for himself,” the New York Times reports.

Said Biden: “Folks, we’ve made a lot of progress, and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress, and she’s going to build on it. I’ll be on the sidelines, but I’ll do everything I can to help.”

Politico: Harris puts her Biden balancing act on display in Pennsylvania.

“A top Trump volunteer in Massachusetts ‘will no longer have any involvement’ in the campaign after he sent an email Sunday evening raising alarm about the Republican ticket’s chances in neighboring New Hampshire,” the Boston Globe reports.

“Tom Mountain, who had served as one of several vice chairs for the former president’s effort in Massachusetts, wrote in an email to Trump volunteers in the state that ‘the campaign has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state,’ and advised supporters to instead direct their attention to Pennsylvania.”

New York Times: “Many of Ms. Haley’s most ardent supporters in her losing bid — moderate, college-educated Republicans and independents skeptical of Mr. Trump — fell into what pollsters called the “double haters” camp: people dreading having to cast a ballot for Mr. Trump or President Biden, before he ended his re-election campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination last month has changed the math.”

Said GOP pollster Whit Ayres: “Neither one of these candidates is exactly a perfect fit for those voters. The Haley voters, I think, are examining the Harris candidacy, and they are going to decide where they fall eventually.”

“About three hours after former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated, on a Saturday evening in mid-July, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got a phone call: Would he consider joining forces with Mr. Trump? What about serving as his running mate?,” the New York Times reports.

“The caller was Calley Means, a health care entrepreneur who had advised Mr. Kennedy on chronic disease policy. He suggested that it might be a moment for unity — Mr. Trump had just narrowly escaped the same fate that had befallen Mr. Kennedy’s father and uncle. Mr. Kennedy, who was running an independent campaign for president, said he wasn’t interested in the vice presidency, and the call ended.”

“A short while later, Mr. Kennedy called back. Yes, he said, he would speak with Mr. Trump.”