David Brooks and Jim Cason

Correspondents

The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, August 23, 2024, p. 22

Chicago. After four days of the Democratic National Convention, which culminated with the coronation of the daughter of immigrants Kamala Harris, much has changed with a new momentum and, for the first time with a positive electoral panorama for the Democrats, the trends in the polls register it.

Harris is now either tied or winning the race. This is a change achieved in just one month since Joe Biden was a candidate and was on the verge of a very possible defeat.

Perhaps the clearest indicator is the growing hysteria of Donald Trump, the opponent at the polls, expressed in his increasingly foolish statements: She was a communist, she is a communist and she will be a communistaccuses Harris every day, something that, beyond being false, seems to be a possibly outdated attack from the old politician who grew up in the cold war.

Here at the convention in Chicago, an optimism that had been absent during Biden’s campaign was born, and with it, the narrative in the media and on the streets about the election changed. Suddenly, Republican ambitions and forecasts were put in check, and with only 11 weeks until the November 5 election, change is essential for Democrats.

The mosaic of Democratic Party grassroots and activists is a visual expression of the differences between the parties. Here in Chicago, both the parade of speakers and the 20,000 participants in the arena underlined the call for unity despite differences, which was one of the main rhetorical messages to mark a contrast with the Republicans and their overwhelmingly white convention.

Latino politicians – some using Spanish expressions –, African-Americans, Asians, gays, Muslims, Jews and more were mixed with stars from the world of entertainment and sports.

By the way, it could be said that those who most excited the public were the non-politicians, such as musician Stevie Wonder, the Chicks, Pink and basketball coach Steve Kerr, among others.

It was also noticeable in the sound route of this political party, from rock and country to Motown, R&B and rap, although not blues, the music most identified with Chicago (perhaps because it clashes a bit with one of the themes of the convention, which is happiness, a decision by someone who does not understand the blues).

There were moments that offered some comic interruptions, for example: references to the party matriarch, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was given the nickname The Godmother -in the sense of The Godfather– for his ironclad handling of partisan power, including, though not publicly stated, his well-known role in ending Joe Biden’s candidacy and transferring it to Harris.

However, if there was one thing the two conventions had in common, it was that strange obsession with the candidates’ families. Unlike in other countries, the candidates’ husbands, children, and grandchildren are suddenly part of the focus: the man who could be the first husband of a US president, Doug Emhoff, Harris’s husband, gave a speech that even included how he met his wife romantically.

President Biden was introduced by his daughter. The children of both politicians were captured by the cameras, and also participated in videos broadcast here to talk about their parents. Nobody elected them, but they are protagonists in the electoral contests.

▲ Basketball coach Steve Kerr and singers Pink and Stevie Wonder, among other celebrities, showcased the mosaic of this political platform.Photo Ap and Afp

And as expected, there is no shortage of easy patriotism. At every convention, when praising this country, the following was chanted: USA, USA. Each night began with the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance and, in the Republican version, martial expressions. Much emphasis was placed on the heroism of current and former military personnel, with some of the speakers stating that they risked their lives in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. to defend freedom and his country. They did not mention the consequences of these American war adventures. Here it was repeatedly used to criticize Trump’s cowardice, who evaded military service on a medical pretext.

In both, it was repeated incessantly that this country is the chosen one of God, every night they asked for the divine being’s blessing, and this mixture of religion and politics took place at the beginning and at the end of each night, even in the voices of religious leaders. It is probably the most religious democracy in the world.

With so much patriotism, odes to American dreamreferences to this country as the indispensable nation of the world and, as repeatedly stated: a force of goodthe references to this election as an existential moment where the future of the superpower was at stake were a little disconcerting. Based on what was said at this and the other convention (the Republican one), there are threats everywhere inside and outside the country. Once again, they left the impression that it is a very scared superpower.

Nothing is decided here, which is disappointing for the newbies among the delegates, who do not understand that a convention is nothing more than a very long commercial, a publicity spot.

A blockbuster under control

It is a blockbuster obviously made by professionals from the entertainment world.

Almost everything is choreographed, nothing is beyond the control of the presidential campaign and the party’s top leadership, although there are sometimes minimal and brief interruptions, such as those expressing dissent over US support for the genocide perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

There is some bread and circuses, but it is also the only time every four years that each party meets on a national scale, where diverse currents can express themselves in some way, as was the case here with progressive legislators and officials and their allies in civil rights and liberties movements, and where despite the political priority of showing unity with the candidates, some of the internal and external struggles in the most powerful country in the world are recorded.

There are levels within the convention. There are special seats for important guests, donors and other distinguished attendees; there are also sections with free drinks, for example the Captain Morgan area.

Powerful companies and interest groups have bought suites with chefs and waiters, and for the most special there are private parties with exclusive entertainment. Despite the rhetoric from the podium, not everyone here is the same.

In Africa, everyone laughs when they see the United Statessays a Ugandan taxi driver in Chicago, talking about the money that dominates the election, the false rhetoric and, above all, Donald Trump, who, he believes, has applied the authoritarian model of several leaders on that continent.