Democrats are big on love, short on details

Kamala Harris didn’t give many policy specifics at the DNC. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a protective shell for Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. On Sundays, we look at the major themes of the week past and how they will define the week ahead. Sign up for the daily newsletter [here](. [Stop!]( I’ve been to exactly one political convention in my life, the dull coronation of future President Bill Clinton in 1992 at Madison Square Garden, and I left with two convictions: I would never go to another, or listen to Fleetwood Mac’s [Don’t Stop]( again. I was thinkin’ about tomorrow, and all the time I had wasted today. Admittedly, there was some excitement at the GOP gig in Houston that year, with culture-warrior nonpareil Pat Buchanan's [watershed speech]( on the horrors of women with guns, political cross-dressing and Ted Kennedy’s spring break venue. As Molly Ivins [famously quipped]( “It probably sounded better in the original German.” Please make it stop. Source: AFP via Getty Images Anyway, the Democrats held their convention last week, and while I haven’t been to Coachella even once, I can pretty much assure you that what happened in Chicago wasn’t its [political equivalent]( Brat Summer or not. But held to a non-Rock ‘n' Roll standard, how did things go? All was lovely, [according]( to Frank Wilkinson. “Love took on new political dimensions,” Frank writes. “Love is not the message of an insecure party, uncertain of its path. After the wrenching political reaction of MAGA, and the retrenchment and self-preservation inspired by a pandemic, Democrats are beckoning Americans to leave their protective shells, assuring them that they will find both safety and freedom in community.” Erika D. Smith likewise [described]( the party’s party as filled with “inspirational speeches about love of country and freedom.” (It seems the only people in Chicago not feeling the love were the anti-abortion Democrats Frank spent some time with, who were [feeling]( “uncomfortable,” “ostracized” and unable to “get a word in.”) As for the main event, Vice President Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech, Nia-Malika Henderson was sharing the love. “She looked and sounded like an American president, forceful in her defense of democracy and proud of the nation’s ability to inspire the world and renew its promise,” Nia-Malika [writes](. “For those insistent that detailed policy plans matter above all else, Harris pledged to build the middle class, secure the border and fight for women’s reproductive freedom, which she smartly connected to the economy.” Indeed, anyone who watched was likely struck by the vice president’s forcefulness. But the [Bloomberg News Big Take]( crew[1](#footnote-1) is among those disappointed on the policy-plans front: “Harris has given no interviews and signaled she no longer holds prior positions on fracking and private healthcare. Her policy offerings have been largely limited to four-and-a-half pages outlining her economic agenda and a party platform, adopted during the convention, that contains repeated references to ‘a second Biden term.’ Her website doesn’t have a policy section.” She did come out with an economic agenda before the convention. But it raised the question of whether the whole no-interviews-empty-website-what-prior-opinions-huh? approach was smarter. “Harris says she’s committed to fiscal responsibility and plans to make the richest Americans and the biggest corporations pay their ‘fair share,’” the Editors [write](. “In truth, without higher taxes on many middle-class households, the government’s debts will continue to mount unsustainably. She can reject broadly based tax increases or be a fiscally responsible president — but, with these new spending ambitions, she can’t honestly promise both.” “The problem with the bulk of her agenda is that it relies on regulating prices and dangling subsidies to help Americans cope with high costs,” [adds]( Robert Burgess. “The campaign envisions something akin to price controls on groceries ... This seems like a good idea until you’re reminded of the disastrous results of price controls ordered up by President Richard Nixon in August 1971 to combat inflation.” The curious thing is that if Harris chose (selectively) to dive into the details, she’d come up full of oxygen. “Harris has some serious manufacturing credentials, and she shouldn’t be afraid to brag about them in her campaign against former President Donald Trump, who has long claimed to champion domestic industry without delivering anything near the current administration’s results,” Jonathan Levin [writes](. “Spending on manufacturing construction in the US has tripled under the Biden-Harris industrial policy, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act (where Harris cast the tie-breaking Senate vote) and CHIPS Act. Most notably, the spending has been led by investments in computer and electronic manufacturing facilities, and the benefits have been shared across the country.” Jonathan doesn’t even think we should be bothered by the week’s least-joyful moment — some ugly Bureau of Labor Statistics [data]( showing the government had overestimated the number of nonfarm jobs in the US by around 68,000 per month. “Some folks are now suggesting that the preliminary revisions to April 2023 to March 2024 data are evidence of a looming recession (which isn’t correct) or proof of the Biden-Harris administration’s poor economic stewardship (which is silly),” he [writes]( If Harris is having trouble making her economic case to the nation, she may have better luck in a battleground state with 16 electoral college votes. “Perhaps nowhere is the race for the Oval Office more transformed than in North Carolina,” Matthew A. Winkler [writes](. “The ninth-most populous state of almost 11 million people no longer is seen as impregnable for Trump and could for the second time this century deliver a Democrat to the Electoral College the way it did for Barack Obama in 2008. The issue for Harris is that North Carolina's prevailing media narrative is no different from other [swing states]( omitting superior growth in gross domestic product, jobs and personal income the past three-and-a-half years that Tar Heels never experienced when Trump was president.” So Harris has a chance in North Carolina, but nobody is expecting a [Landslide](. Bonus [Stop]( Reading - Democrats [Made Abortion Personal](. Trump Has No Rebuttal. — Nia-Malika Henderson - Tim Walz [Reminds Us]( of Social Security’s True Purpose — Kathryn Anne Edwards - Vance [Attacks Harris]( on Energy by Cherry-Picking Facts — Liam Denning - Harris Can [Sell Bidenomics]( Better Than Biden Did — Matthew Yglesias [What’s the World Got in Store]( - [Burning Man]( Aug. 25 — Sept. 2: Burning Man Is a [Climate-Crisis Parable]( — Lara Williams - Eurozone CPI, Aug. 30: The Global Central Bank [Is Alive and Well]( — Daniel Moss - India GDP, Aug. 30: — India [Should Remove Food]( From Its Inflation Target — Mihir Sharma [Ramble On]( I have a suggestion for Tim “Coach” Walz’s advisers: Block [that metaphor]( Yeesh: “It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal. But we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field. And boy, do we have the right team. Kamala Harris is tough. Kamala Harris is experienced. And Kamala Harris is ready. Our job, our job, our job, our job for everyone watching, is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling. One inch at a time. One yard at a time.” Being a ramblin’ man is part of Walz’s charm, so I guess our job (our job, our job, our job) is to cut him some slack on his convention speech. But really, we have the ball and need to be doing the tackling? Fortunately for his former players at Mankato West High School, Walz was the defensive coordinator, and left the blocking to others. “Walz has never been one for flowery oratory,” Patricia Lopez [writes](. “But he has a knack for cutting through the clutter that is a far cry from the policy-heavy, jargony speeches typical of Democrats in the past.” Indeed, if you’re averse to policy-heavy speeches, this convention was the stuff of [Dreams]( Notes: Please send dangling subsidies and feedback to Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net. [1] Sorry, this newsletter can squeeze in only so many authors per story in the main body. But footnotes are free! So here they are: [Sridhar Natarajan]( [Amanda L Gordon]( [Isis Almeida]( and [Laura Davison](. Follow Us Stay updated by saving our new email address Our email address is changing, which means you’ll be receiving this newsletter from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. Here’s how to update your contacts to ensure you continue receiving it: - Gmail: Open an email from Bloomberg, click the three dots in the top right corner, select “Mark as important.” - Outlook: Right-click on Bloomberg’s email address and select “Add to Outlook Contacts.” - Apple Mail: Open the email, click on Bloomberg’s email address, and select “Add to Contacts” or “Add to VIPs.” - Yahoo Mail: Open an email from Bloomberg, hover over the email address, click “Add to Contacts.” Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](