Kamala Harris faces a much higher burden of proof in Tuesday nights debate than Donald Trump. As the NY Times/Siena poll published this weekend showed a wide swath of traditionally Democratic constituencies and swing voters still have not formed an opinion of her while Donald Trumps brand is etched in stone. While Trump has both a hard floor and ceiling of support, Harris has a lot more upside - and downside than almost any candidate in living memory at this point in the race.
That’s a make or break situation and she has a lot to overcome here. Its difficult but doable. Here are the top five things she must accomplish:
She must move from the unknown into the known on precisely her terms. This is likely to be the biggest and best opportunity for voters to shape an opinion of her. Tens of millions of Americans will be holding a job interview for her and she’s not likely to get another chance to make an impression like she will Tuesday night - that’s a lot of pressure. The good news is as a woman and a woman of color she has had to meet and surpass these types of hurdles all of her life and she’s made it to the pinnacle of power. She’s no stranger to this type of environment and she’s fared much better one-on-one than in a multi-candidate debate.
She must be both energetic and reasonable. This entire race until a few weeks ago was centered on the feeble, old slipping octogenarians trying to fill this role. Millions were spent by Trump attacking Biden for being too old and incompetent to do the job, and through a twist of fate, now finds himself as the doddering old codger in the race. Kamala Harris must be energetic and demonstrate to the country that it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans. BUT, she must also be the voice of reason. She must be passionate but not unstable. Vivacious but not naive. A tightrope for sure.
She has to be Presidential. If this sounds obvious it’s not. She’s a woman - and a black woman. Both of these traits defy the deeply embedded notions of what Presidential leadership looks like and Harris is gonna have to introduce Americans to someone who is different by generation, race and gender. Tall order. A big moment that could have a transformative affect on the nation and the world if she is successful.
Abortion rights over Border Security. If social media and the chattering class are talking about how strong Harris was on abortion rights she’s won the debate. If everyone is talking about border security its likely Trump carried the day. These issues are where each candidate has their respective strong positions and they’re going to play to them and try to parry the other into trying to explain their hypocrisy on their respective positions. Trump back tracking on his pro-life position in the post Dobbs world. Harris trying to explain multiple positions she’s taken over a career in law enforcement from one of the most progressive states in the country and far left positions on immigration. Harris is strongly positioned here because she can coherently prosecute a case against him and Trump…well, isn’t coherent ever.
Maintain Likability. By now people either love or hate Trump and not much is going to change that. Harris remains relatively unknown but has rather high likability numbers - for the moment. While Walz has the highest likability numbers of any of the candidates, Harris comes in second and if she can stay in the range she’s set there’s a good chance that the few undecided voters out there break her way. Maintaining likability could be one of the sleeper issues that not many pundits are talking about because so much of what we choose about people is determined by whether we like them or not. Trump is what he is. Harris can keep her numbers up.
Like Ginger Rogers dancing with the amazing Fred Astaire who got most of the recognition in their famous dance routines - she had to perform backwards and in heels. Kamala Harris finds herself in precisely the same spot.
No pressure or anything.
SEPT 9 - The 5 Keys To A Successful Debate for Kamala Harris