Q. IF HARRIS HAS SETTLED ON SHAPIRO FOR VEEP, WHY ALL THE SECRET MEETINGS (SOME VIRTUAL) THIS WEEKEND WITH OTHER PROSPECTS?
A. To create drama and excitement; to satisfy a ritual of the process, even under the tight schedule; to allow Kamala Harris to feel she has checked every box before making it final/final; because you never know when someone might change her mind.
Q. WHY DO YOU THINK HARRIS HAS SETTLED ON SHAPIRO?
A. So many reasons. First, within Shapiro World there have been many signs, public and private, suggesting that they know he is being picked. Second, the nah body language from those around the other top prospects. Third, watch these two videos from Friday’s Shapiro event at a ceremonial bill signing at Cheyney University in Cheyney, PA.
If Shapiro is picked, people are going to be stunned by his communications skills, demonstrated here with his remarks….
…and demonstrated here at the press availability:
I’m not saying the guy is JFK, RFK, BHO, and WJC all rolled into one, along with Joe Lieberman’s sense of humor.
I’m just saying that unlike Tim Walz, this is a “WOW” pick who can help win the most important state on the Electoral College map.
Seriously, watch both videos.
And think about how Shapiro handles the press, as compared to Donald Trump, JD Vance, and, yes, Kamala Harris.
(If not Shapiro, Walz or, longer shot, Kelly.)
Q. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ALL THE NEW WILMINGTON HIRES?
A. Beyond putting a whole new all-star team of top talent in place to share the work, the willingness of these folks to drop what they are doing for an all-hands-on-deck 90-day sprint demonstrates the generational and existential threat the entire leadership of the Democratic Party and the consultant class believes stopping Donald Trump to be. Almost no top Democrat who Wilmington wants will sit this out if summoned. That is a practical and psychological boost that Mar-a-Lago can’t full match right now.
David Plouffe, Stephanie Cutter, Mitch Stewart, Terrance Woodbury Jen Palmieri, Jim Margolis, and David Binder are actually more than all-star players; they are Hall of Famers.
For those interested in the names and roles of the inside-baseball-with-outside-implications details, I recommend the Politico and Washington Post stories.
Q. WHAT DOES THIS TRUMP POST MEAN?
A. It means that the one debate between Harris and Trump might be on Fox on September 4. Or it might not. At this writing, I have no idea.
Q. WHAT IS THE TOP ESSENTIAL READ OF THE DAY?
A. The New York Times’ Adam Nagourney on the history and context of Donald Trump trying to “other” Kamala Harris.
I can tell you without fear of contradiction that Team Harris is well aware both of what Trump is trying to do and of the modern history of Democratic Party presidential nominees who lost general elections since 1988 being painted by Republicans as unacceptable in the eyes of too many voters to win.
Resolved in Wilmington: There will be no Willie Hortonizing, no No-Controlling-Legal-Authorizing, no For-It-Before-Being-Against-It Commentating, no Private-Email-Serving.
Harris will not be taking August off, wearing a funny helmet, going windsurfing, visiting a Buddhist temple to raise money, or making jokes about destroying her emails.
Trump might still define Harris on his terms, but it would have to happen in the face of massive, experienced Democratic resistance.
Q. WHAT IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT QUOTE OF THE DAY?
A. From Molly Ball’s essential reading Wall Street Journal story:
Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster, said that in her research, voters saw both Harris and Haley as embodying the new direction they craved. “People want change, they want the next generation, and these women of color represent that,” she said. At the same time, she said even many Republican women recoil at Trump’s macho posturing. “What you say about women is different in the post-Dobbs era,” she said. “It’s interpreted in a framework of control and autonomy, where before it was just ‘Trump being Trump.’ ”
Q. WHAT IS THE POLITICAL SIGNFICANCE OF SECRETARY AUSTIN’S OVERTURNING THE 9/11 DECISION?
A. The White House will do everything it can politically to help Harris win.
Q. MIGHT TRUMP REALLY REPLACE JD VANCE ON THE TICKET?
A. Almost certainly not, but it is being discussed in Republican donor, political, and pundit circles, and if Trump thought the only way to win (and stay out of prison) was to sub in Nikki Haley or Glenn Youngkin, should we really rule it out? Of course, there is the little matters of Vance himself and of Trump getting someone else to join his merry band right at this moment. So, I would put the odds of swapping in a new running mate at about the same level as Michelle Obama being the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee.
Q. IS THIS A TOSS-UP OR DOES ONE CANDIDATE HAVE THE EDGE?
A. Ask me ten days after Labor Day.
Q. WHEN IS THE TRUMP/VANCE RALLY TONIGHT:
A.
Q. WHAT DID I LEARN FROM MY PROVIDENCE UBER DRIVER THIS MORNING?
A. Trump seems off; Harris is surprisingly appealing; the circumstances of the assassination attempt don’t make sense; all politicians lie and who has the time to pay attention to elections in this economy?