Kamala Harris’s travel plans to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago began when her role was simply to whip up support for a faltering veteran President. On 21 July, that dating status with the US electorate changed when Joe Biden was forced to quit his party’s candidacy after a confused debate performance against Donald Trump.
This week it is Harris who will undergo a coronation, amid high hopes among Democrats who are gathering for the four-yearly nomination-fest. It is a history-making event, even as those of us attending slog through the multiple checkpoints and body scanners in the sweltering heat of the Windy City, in the wake of the near-fatal attack on Trump last month.
This week, Harris will become the first woman of black and South Asian descent to lead a party ticket – and the first candidate to do so after a sitting President quit the race since Lyndon Johnson decided not to seek a second term in 1968. amid the heat of protests over the Vietnam War. That is not a promising memory – Hubert H Humphrey, hastily inserted on the Democratic ticket, lost to Richard Nixon in that year’s presidential race.
Long shadows of past failure are something the Harris camp has sought to expel since she became the presumptive nominee. Her campaign, exuding buoyancy and high-energy optimism, is focusing on the potential gains of the switch, and the excitement of the transition to establish her as a figure formidable enough to see off Trump.
As well as pouring praise on Biden’s legacy (and getting useful commendation in return), Harris will be supported by........