By Wade Lee Hudson

So much for The Politics of Joy. As CNN’s Audie Cornish stated immediately after Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, “Some were saying she was a joyful warrior. Tonight she was a warrior.” Harris did not ride the convention’s wave of positive energy. It was as if she had not watched her own convention. 

On August 7, in a CNN analysis, Stephen Collinson reported, “Happy warriors Harris and Walz propose(d) an antidote to Trump’s American carnage” He reported, “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz want to make America joyful again. The vice president’s rocking rollout of her running mate on Tuesday sent jolts of energy through a huge crowd, as the pair personified the extraordinary transformation of the 2024 election campaign.”

Yesterday, after Tim Walz’s inspiring speech, I commented, “As individuals and as a society, we can tap into love and control hate. The Kamala Harris campaign against Donald Trump will test this belief.” Following the Obamas’ Tuesday night values-laden speeches, I expressed appreciation for their 

rare affirmations of two principles at the heart of the Compassionate Humanity Community project…. Michele used a great phrase that was new to me despite how obvious it is. It hits the nail on the head: ‘ensuring that everyone has enough.’… (And) Barack once again addressed the need for self-improvement to overcome personal weaknesses that society inflames…. We need to remember that we’ve all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices…. We need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process. 

On Thursday night, however, Harris relied on righteous anger to present a traditional Democratic laundry list of policy goals “on behalf of the middle class.” Harris reverted to the emphasis on an “opportunity economy” that enables “more” people to “get ahead” of others and enter the middle class, as I had feared prior to the emergence of the campaign’s joyful concentration on positive values. Starting gate equality prevailed.

Her strident speech emphasized a prosecutorial pursuit of justice. It was more the politics of anger than a politics of joy and compassion. It was a politics of power.

On the issue of Palestine, however, she backed away from the forceful use of American leverage to protect the Palestinians. She said their suffering was “devastating” and “heartbreaking,” but she did not say the Israeli attacks were unjustified. She supported Palestinian “self-determination,” but she did not affirm a two-state solution or call for the settlers to stop their West Bank expansion. She gave no indication she would consider placing conditions on American military aid to Israel.

On the domestic front, she gave little or no backing for cultural and personal change. She concluded, “Let’s vote for it.” 

Fortunately, Donald Trump will likely continue to operate “on tilt,” mentally and emotionally confused and irrational. Harris will likely win in a landside as Trump implodes, but she may fail to cultivate deep transformation.