by Elpidio Estioko “We are not going back. We are going forward!”
This was the essence of the four-day Democratic National Convention (DNC) culminating in the historic acceptance speech of Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. President.
Before accepting the nomination, Kamala Harris made it clear in her speech that as president, she would be president for the people regardless of race, party affiliation, or status in life, but for the oppressed and the needy.
She said: “On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America.”
That was a moving speech that made me believe that it would resonate with all sectors of America. She spelled out her economic, immigration, and foreign policies. And of course, she shared her vision to make America the land of the free by discussing all kinds of freedom citizens can exercise to the fullest.
On the first day of the DNC, Hillary Clinton said the future is “in our grasp.” Clinton was the first woman ever to clinch a major party nomination for U.S. President eight years ago.
She expressed her support and said Harris has the “character, experience and vision to lead us forward,” reminding us that we should not be complacent but be more proactive and assertive in converting “popular votes” to electoral votes.
Clinton won the popular vote but lost to Trump for getting fewer electoral votes which is the determining vote to winning the presidency. She does not want this to happen to Harris.
For his part, President Joe Biden got a hero’s welcome as he passed the torch to Vice President Harris.
“I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you for 50 years,” Biden told the cheering Chicago crowd that gave him a five-minute standing ovation chanting and raising/waving the placards stating “Thank you, Joe.”
It took Biden about 20 “thank you’s” before starting his speech.
On the second day, I agreed with former President Barack Obama telling DNC attendees that America does not need four more years of a Donald Trump presidency.
“We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos, we have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse,” Obama said.
“America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”
Michelle Obama, on the other hand, said GOP’s former President Donald Trump must be running for a “Black position.”
I almost jumped on my chair while watching over my TV screen when she said:
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?”
It was in reference to Trump’s comment he made during his June debate against President Joe Biden when he said: “Immigrants coming into the US were ‘taking Black jobs now.’”
On the third day, Oprah Winfrey, the very influential talk show host and a surprise addition to the list of speakers, said:
“We’re now so fired up, we can’t wait to leave here and do something, and what we’re going to do is elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”
Former President Bill Clinton thanked President Biden for his courage and service, saying he “had an improbable turn that made him president. And then he did something really hard for a politician to do. He voluntarily gave up political power.”
I agree with him because the difficult decision of Biden withdrawing from the race will surely enhance his presidential legacy. It takes a man to think beyond himself.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on the other hand, made a very dramatic introduction of himself before accepting the nomination by bringing in his football team on stage and his family with his son shouting “That’s my Dad.”
My wife Delia was touched as a mom of six children on the real meaning of a family with Walz bringing his football team on stage as a member of his extended family.
“I have 24 kids in my high school class and none of them went to Yale,” Walz said.
This was a very subtle innuendo to GOP VP candidate JD Vance who attended the university. Then he said: “Never underestimate a public school teacher.” He chanted, “We are not going back,” when he accepted the nomination.
For her part, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised President Biden’s administration as one of the most accomplished in modern times.
She went on to wholeheartedly endorse Harris for president, condemned Trump for his role in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and gave her stamp of approval for vice presidential nominee, Walz.
So, the question now is: Can Harris convert her newly-gained popularity to votes?
I would say, with the latest positive developments favoring her candidacy, it’s a yes!
First, President Biden did the right thing in dropping from the race and endorsing Harris to replace him. Surveys had shown that in so short a time, Harris is now leading the national polls and in some key states over Trump. The political landscape has completely changed. The winds of change are blowing towards Harris!
Second, the personal attacks of Trump against Harris are not working as far as the voters are concerned. Even among GOP leaders, they are cautioning Trump to stay focused on policies and not on personal attacks.
Even North Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said: “Stop attacking Kamala, this is not the way to win the presidency!”
In several swing states, the Republicans for Harris coalition was launched. In an exclusive article from CNN, prominent conservative legal scholar and retired federal appeals court Judge J. Michale Luttig endorsed Harris over Trump and wrote in his statement:
“In the presidential election of 2024, there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law. As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”
Former Trump White House officials Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye have also joined the GOP deserters. Grisham served multiple roles in the Trump administration. She resigned in the hours after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Hosted by Troye, a recent Republicans for Harris online rally was attended by over 73,000 people. On the coalition’s website, it states that “Over 100,000 people have joined this campaign within a campaign. Millions of Republicans will cast a ballot for Kamala Harris in November.”
Third, we have to admit that Harris is a more dynamic and charismatic speaker than Biden and who can match Trump’s rhetoric.
With her charisma, she can turn the eyes of her listeners and make them interested in what she is emphasizing. She can capture the audience and can empathize with them.
Fourth, she is young and negated one of the most effective attacks the Republicans have leveled against their opponent: the age of Biden.
The vice president, at age 59, is a more energetic campaigner and able to make a more coherent case for her party.
She could also turn the 78-year-old Trump’s age against him (a baby boomer), as he would become the oldest person ever elected president.
Fifth, Harris, being Black and Indian, may be able to generate support from Black, Indian, and Asian voters.
She may also combine that with more backing from other minorities and younger voters that could help her gain ground against Trump in swing states that will decide this year’s election.
Sixth, her background as a prosecutor could also bolster her tough-on-crime credentials in the campaign against Trump. It’s a rivalry between a convicted felon and a prosecutor in the political arena.
Seventh, as the first woman vice president of color, she can transcend this to being the first woman president.
Women will rally behind her considering that her opponent is a predator to women as evidenced by his sexual court cases.
At least 18 women have accused Trump of varying inappropriate behavior, including allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault.
The most celebrated of which was that of writer E. Jean Carroll where a jury has ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages for defamatory comments he made about her when he was president.
Carroll sued Trump in 2019 for sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.
Eight, as for the double-haters, they now have a choice in the person of Kamala Harris. Harris picks up the “double haters” as Democratic enthusiasm jumps, according to the latest polls in an article written by Lauren Sforza.
Sforza said Harris is gaining momentum among voters who disliked both Biden and Trump, according to a new poll.
A poll in June found that 54% of the double-haters who had unfavorable views of Biden and Trump would not support either candidate… and the new poll found that Harris now has 53% of the vote among these Biden-Trump double-haters. The ultimate step is for Harris to garner the presidency in the November 5 election, and with all these positive indicators in her favor, she can easily win the final lap in the race for the presidency!
ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and an award-winning journalist here in the US. He just published his book Unlocking the Chain of Poverty: In Pursuit of the American Dream which is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris Publishing. For feedback and comments, please email the author at estiokoelpidio@gmail.com.
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