So, what did Kamala Harris say?

In her acceptance speech of the Democratic nomination for the president, Kamala Harris, on the fourth day of the convention at Chicago on August 21, said almost everything that a Democratic nominee is expected to say. This included support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

She spoke of the security of Israel. On the hugely divisive issue of Israel’s war in Gaza, Harris went further than the rhetoric of her boss Biden by calling the scale of suffering in the Palestinian enclave “heartbreaking.”

She vowed to get a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and cheers erupted when she vowed “self-determination” for the Palestinian people.

Biden threatened that American aid for Israel will be suspended until Israel agreed to a ‘humanitarian ceasefire’. Of course, Biden had to follow the American trajectory and release aid to Israel.

She was steadfast on Ukraine like Biden. She identified Russian President Vladimir Putin as the adversary and expressed outright support for Ukraine. On two of the burning foreign policy issues, Harris showed that she was not going to tread a fresh path. On the domestic front she promised better health care and easy access to home-ownership. She did not say much on climate change.

There was no doubt that she enthused the Democratic National Convention and there was huge cheer for her and the many leaders, including the Clintons and Obamas, who had eloquently endorsed her. Most American media observers noted the extraordinary electric energy that seemed to envelop the Democratic convention, something that was missing until Joe Biden announced not contesting the presidential election, and at the same time endorsing Harris’ candidacy.

And at the moment every liberal media observer is happy that Harris served a hard blow to the Donald Trump campaign. Trump seemed to have lost his winning edge which he seemed to command with Biden as his rival. All the energy and enthusiasm seemed to be with Trump.

There has been a mood swing, and it is the Democrats who are feeling the high. Though the mood is important in an election, it would be naïve to believe that elections are won on the basis of mood alone. Surprisingly neither Trump nor Harris have a convincing answer on how to mend the world’s largest economy.

Harris seems to carry the day because of her energy and positive outlook. There is however the apprehension that the harassed American voter is looking for something more from the presidential candidates, and the two nominees have failed to deliver on the specifics of policy.

Harris is relying on her own story to say that she understands fellow-American economic compulsions, and she will alleviate them. How she will do it remains vague. Critics of Harris are bound to say that she does not even have a draft policy agenda. She is not big on agenda and policy formulation. She will mostly follow policy as dictated by the exigencies of the moment.

One of the worries of Harris supporters in the public realm is that when confronted by an economic challenge, she would not know how to handle it. Many would say that she would not be alone and there is enough expert advice on hand to advise her to what needs to be get done.

She does not have to fall back on herself to solve the big questions of the day. She has to project the image of a person who will stand unruffled in the face of a crisis. That will be a test for Harris because until now she has been surrounded by people who want her to win. After the elections, the cheering crowds are sure to melt away, and she might have to stand alone on many occasions.