November 1: Election 2024 - the final pitch

In which, Harris and Trump commit unforced errors in the homestretch, Israel strikes Iran and awaits retaliation, and by the way there’s other elections happening this week.

Election 2024: The final pitch

Much like the American economy with its mixed indicators of up markets, but poor jobs reports, the state of the presidential election in its final weeks is similarly mixed even as the salient issues have remained consistent.

Polls are calling it a tie, but betting markets are pointing to a Trump win. Early voting and historical precedence point to a Trump win, but less traditional indicators point to Harris having good odds. At this point, one really needs to tune things out a bit and just let the race finish, especially given the nastiness of the “closing arguments” from the two sides.

After an off color joke at a Trump likening Puerto Rico to an “island of garbage” drew accusations of racism, President Biden referred to Trump supporters, those “ultra MAGA” extremists he loves to hate as “garbage,” which effectively eliminated any moral high ground the Harris campaign hoped to gain from “Garbage Gate”.

As both sides feel the closeness of the race, they seem to be turning away from trying to win independent votes and turning towards shoring up their bases. Harris is doubling down on abortion rights and “Trump is Hitler” appeals while TikTok influencers are recirculating the 2016 Access Hollywood tape in hopes of turning first time voters against Trump.  

Trump, for his part, is doubling down on new media appearances and using every misstep by Harris and Biden to troll them. Both campaigns appear to be attempting to sling mud more to appeal to bases and deter independents from voting for the other candidate.

If you’re an independent who is still undecided, then, I’m not sure if you’re going to hear anything new from either candidate. Best, rather, to survey the party platforms (check out my recent podcasts on both the GOP and Democratic platforms) and consider that whoever wins the presidency will be appointing a team of leaders. In other words, accept the fact that we’ve got two flawed candidates, but they lead very different parties with very different visions of how they plan to govern. Consider your presidential vote from that angle. Hopefully that’ll bring some clarity. Heaven knows, my presidential ballot won’t be based on likability. 

And if you can’t choose between Harris and Trump, that’s OK, please vote anyway. There’s more than the Oval Office on your ballot, and as I routinely tell my students: The President is the most powerful person in the world, but not the most powerful person in America.

Bottom line,  go vote, enjoy that privilege and tune out the fear mongering (both sides are doing this, which is what makes this joke work), don’t stay glued to the TV to watch the returns. I’ll see you on the flipside.