August 23: We come to it at last…

… the great battle of our time.

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Nothing like a little epic Gandalf quote to frame up the official start of the 2024 presidential campaign:

The “joy” and “vibes” of PR Politics at the DNC

Add PR politics to the list of things Kamala Harris is carrying over from the Biden administration (along with inflation, Bidenomics, a disastrous border, etc.).

The DNC concluded last night in Chicago having pulled off peak PR politics with a week long pep rally for the party with all the emphasis on “joy,” “vibes,” and “freedom” and precious little in terms of a policy program (much to the chagrin of anti-Israel protesters outside). Yes, there was the Democrat’s 2024 platform, but much of its 92-page length is taken up with what the Biden administration has accomplished, not what Kamala Harris will do.

That's the essence of PR politics as I’ve discussed it here in the past: It’s long on words, short on action. Big on optics, small on substance. And that appears to be something that Republicans are starting to pivot to in their post campaign attacks on Harris-Walz. 

For the Democrats, the DNC was about pulling out the stops, bringing in all the stars, and denying uncomfortable divisions in order to present a unified, energized party with momentum.

On the whole, I would say they succeeded in the convention hall at least, but the appearance of unity and momentum is only as good as its demonstrated sustainability, so now the real test comes. And the TV ratings don’t necessarily indicate broad voter engagement.

The Race begins…

With the conventions over, the real presidential election campaign begins. It begins with momentum clearly on the side of Harris-Walz coming out of the DNC, but all the momentum and massive fundraising of the last month haven’t opened up any real lead on Trump-Vance. We’ve largely got a neck and neck race, so Harris-Walz will have to maintain their momentum or see a serious Trump-Vance meltdown to pull through. 

This is where the real test of the PR politics approach comes into play. Trump-Vance are betting that voters are going to pay attention to policy this year given ongoing inflation pressures, border troubles, and a studied lack of policy proposals from the Harris-Walz campaign. 

Harris-Walz, on the other hand, are betting that they can get by on vibes and catchphrases like “joy” and “freedom.” It’s like they’re drawing on Barack Obama’s “hope” of 2008 to pull through another four years of Bidenomics. That really appears to be the plan, hence the lack of policy specifics.

Underneath the surface, there seems to be a certain assumption the campaigns are making about the average voter, too. Trump-Vance are betting that the average voter is going to vote “issues” while Harris-Walz are betting they’ll vote how they “feel” and so both are focusing their efforts in those directions. The former assumes a decently informed voter, the latter a poorly informed voter. Both types of voters are certainly out there, the question is what’s their relative levels of engagement and population size?

Bottom line, you’ve got a real choice this year, folks. The contrasts are not just in personalities and policies (or lack thereof), but in how both campaigns think about the American people they hope to represent. That being said, do not be despairing and apocalyptic in your outlook.

I’ll bracket this with another epic Gandalf quote: