Five weeks ago, Democrats were preparing to hold their national convention in Chicago under a pall, weighed down by fears of defeat and what Michelle Obama called a “palpable sense of dread about the future”. An 81-year-old president, trailing badly in the polls, would face his people as they cowered before the prospect of four more years of Donald Trump and his bloodlust for retribution.
What we got at the DNC in Chicago was a week-long celebration that went well beyond the relief that the party evidently feels now that it is back in the game. There was rejoicing in the energy and confidence that has been unleashed by the unexpected metamorphosis from Joe Biden to the “joyful warrior”, Kamala Harris.
