Keller: Kamala Harris told a Massachusetts girl she loves offense. She'll need it against Trump
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON - All week long, participants in and observers of the Democratic National Convention remarked on the mood of optimism and exuberance. There was also a steady drumbeat of scathing criticism of former President Donald Trump.
Elizabeth Warren came onstage Thursday night to an ovation so loud and prolonged, the Massachusetts senator was visibly moved. Moments later, she was strafing Trump as an out-of-touch felon. "When did he ever fill up a gas tank or worry about a grocery bill?" she said. "The only bills he worries about are from his criminal defense lawyers."
"I love offense"
And while Governor Maura Healey's reception was less effusive, she scored with a story about nominee Kamala Harris asking a little girl in Boston what she liked best about her basketball camp. "The little girl said to her 'anything but defense.' Kamala put her hand on her shoulder and replied: 'Me too. I love offense.'"
And after all the speeches and songs were finished, Harris talked about her life and values, and expressed an optimistic vision of the future: "Our nation with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward."
But she also bluntly contrasted that optimism with a dark picture of a second Trump term.
"In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious," she said.
"Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your lives, not to strengthen our national security but to serve the only client he has ever had - himself."
This was not a 1992 Bill Clinton-esque homage to hope or a 2004 Barack Obama-style paean to national unity. The Harris campaign understands the meaning of the last election, in which Trump actually increased his 2016 vote total after presiding over a catastrophic failure to prepare for and respond to the COVID pandemic, not to mention four years of questionable rhetoric about race and authoritarianism. No matter how inept Trump might seem to some, plenty of Americans are still willing to buy what he's selling.
What's next?
So for all of the Democratic uplift attempted this week in Chicago, the rest of this campaign will be about offense - which candidate can do a better job of scaring the daylights out of the swing voters in a handful of states about their opponent. The debate on September 10 and whatever other encounters these two might agree on will likely be determinative.
And they won't be especially uplifting. Better buckle your seat belts.