Recovery

Despite the political, economic, and health crises Trump left in his wake when he fled Washington in January 2021, the country has not only experienced an extraordinary economic recovery, but also a flowering of remarkably successful progressive public policies, the likes of which have not been seen since the 1960s.

And yet, until just weeks ago, to the chagrin of President Biden and the frustration of his allies, most of the nation seemed unimpressed, if not entirely oblivious, to the progress which Trump and his followers so assiduously denied. In fact, the Democratic Party had become so consumed with gloom and pessimism that it seemed poised to hand the election to Trump, despite the fact that he remained one of the most reviled figures in American history.

It was as if the effort of fighting against Trump’s reality denial had consumed so much energy that a surrender to it was becoming inevitable.

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[T]he Harris campaign reflects a long delayed celebration of the nation’s survival, and indeed its prosperity, in the face of the unprecedented assaults it faced during the Trump era.

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[T]he emergent theme of the Harris campaign — the preservation of what the candidate calls “freedom” — is far less abstract than the theme of the last self-consciously joyful presidential campaign, the “hope and change” call of Barack Obama.

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Harris leaves her supporters with little doubt as to what she means by “freedom,” a term that voters immediately recognize as a call to preserve reproductive rights against right-wing assault, as well to preserve democratic institutions in the face of ongoing GOP threats.

  Public Notice

UPDATE 11:03 am: There's a lot of grumbling about Harris not giving more face time to the press. Here's an answer to that: