Editorial: An Ode to Joy on the Campaign Trail
By • August 14, 2024 0 339
It’s amazing what a little hope can do — not to mention “ope,” as Tim Walz and his fellow Minnesotans would say. In just a few short weeks, the political world has seen enough twists and turns to rival the most challenging of Simone Biles’s vault routines. And it’s been nearly as breathtaking.
If money is a metric of success, then the Harris-Walz ticket would be solid gold. Since President Biden courageously passed the baton, per Vox the campaign has raised over $310 million, with 66 percent of the donations coming from first-time contributors. After Walz joined the team, the Democrats’ coffers were enriched by an additional infusion of $36 million.
By comparison, Trump received $137 million in July. (That we’re seeing such eye-popping sums for a presidential race is itself obscene, and perhaps the subject of another editorial, another time.)
Harris is beating Trump in crowd size, too, which has got to be a sore point for the ratings-obsessed Former Guy.
Schadenfreude aside, it’s the Democrats’ promise that inspires hope, excitement and, yes, joy. More Four Freedoms and Beyoncé than “American carnage.” In place of dystopia and Project 2025, we have a platform that puts people first, whoever they are, whatever they need: healthcare, voting rights, reproductive autonomy and respect for the individual to do what’s best for them. Most refreshing, it’s a platform unencumbered by the meddling sanctimony and MAGA “weirdness” that seek to define and divide.
Also cats!
For women, who have been down and scared so long, seeing a woman candidate in the number-one spot is a gift. The pent-up desire for just this moment — to provide a model for our daughters — is exhilarating. And to see her running mate happy in his own skin shows just how far we can go with the right people in the job.
If nothing else, this very abbreviated campaign proves you don’t need to start the next horse-race cycle two and a half years in advance. Four months is more than enough.
The Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago from August 19 to 22. Until then, do your happy dance and wal(t)z away. There may be plenty of tough days ahead, but for now it feels good to be a joyful warrior for democracy.
