Kamala

People in the U.S.A., Canada and the world can feel more hopeful than they have been for a long time after Kamala Harris’ powerful, compassionate, and visionary speech Thursday night to accept her presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

Unlike the recent rambling convention speeches by President Joe Biden and the much-feared Donald Trump, Vice President Harris delivered a concise, and forceful talk. Although she has been criticized for being too “smiley,” Harris was serious, presidential and, unafraid to mix it up with Trump.

American patriotism was alive and well at the lively DNC, and the raucous crowd of freshly-discovering-Kamala-believers was happy to wrap themselves in the Stars and Stripes. “I love my country with all my heart,” Harris asserted.

“The middle class is where I come from,” she said, having been raised mainly by a single Asian immigrant mother “on the flats” of Oakland, California, not the high hills inhabited by the more fortunate in that city.

As president she promised to deliver “an opportunity economy, where everyone has the chance to compete and the chance to succeed.”

By contrast, Trump only “fights for himself and his billionaire friends,” according to Harris.
Rather than freedom from, she emphasized freedom to “vote,” to “love who you love” and to have their reproductive rights respected and to honor those who are prepared to “sacrifice for the good of the country.”

To the greatest applause of the evening, she urged voters to “trust me to support free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power.” She decried the loss of police lives during the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.

Surely, most Canadians would hope that Trump can never again challenge a U.S. presidential election result. They can draw comfort from Harris’ choice of the plain-speaking “coach,” Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, as her running mate for the fall U.S. election. Minnesota has a long border with Canada, touching on both Manitoba and Ontario. For her part, Kamala spent five years in her youth in Montreal and this should give her greater sensitivity than Trump to the bilingual and multicultural nature of this country.

Nonetheless, Canadians must be vigilant as the Biden-Harris administration has had “America First” tendencies, which, if continued under a Harris-Waltz government could hurt Canada. Fortunately, Biden never showed a tendency to “push Canada around” as Trump enjoyed doing.

As for the rest of the world, Harris made clear her absolute support for NATO and for Ukraine in its war with Putin’s Russia.

Furthermore, she skillfully addressed the complex issue of the Hamas-Israel war, asserting Israel’s right to defend itself, and the absolute need to free the hostages. She also expressed deep concern about the loss of so many innocent lives in Gaza. She vowed to help Palestinians “realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”

The focus of DNC convention-goers was not focussed entirely on Harris-Waltz. Among the many speakers were several Republicans. But Barack and Michelle Obama drew particular attention.

The former president Obama warned that for all the energy generated by the Democrats in the last few weeks, there will still be “a tight race in a closely divided nation.”

He said Trump has been whining constantly “since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

For her part, Michelle Obama ridiculed Trump for saying that immigrants to the U.S, are taking away jobs from Black Americans. “I want to know who is going to tell him (Trump) that the job he’s currently seeking might be one of those Black jobs,” This prompted the biggest roar from the crowd on the second night of the convention.
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Now the hard part begins for Harris-Waltz. Trump and the press will be pressuring them to flesh out their policy and their vision over little more than two months to the Nov. 5 election. It will be one of the most important and interesting election races in American history. Canadians will be watching and hoping.