CHICAGO — Democrats boogied down Wednesday, basking in a newfound feeling of political “magic” exactly one month after President Biden dropped his re-election bid, finding hope in Vice President Kamala Harris’ “vibes” and “joy” – despite her lack of comprehensive policies.
Now that Biden is out of the race, Democrats believe they have a serious shot at victory under Harris.
Though she has yet to do an interview on her policies nor launch a policy tab on her website, Democrats are eager that there is someone other than Biden on the ticket.
“The enthusiasm is off the charts,” former Kansas state Rep. Raj Goyle, a friend of Harris who has known her since 2008, said about the state of the race one month after Biden’s withdrawal.
Goyle recounted his work in the early days of former President Barack Obama’s political rise and reflected that this feels like “the same energy and perhaps even more so because the stakes of defeating Donald Trump are so high.”
Both Barack and Michelle Obama addressed the convention Tuesday, electrifying the United Center — which was jam-packed with Democrats — with their famously dynamic oratory skills. The former president mentioned Biden by name just twice in his keynote speech – and Michelle Obama skipped over him entirely.
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it? Not just here in this arena, but spreading all across this country we love. A familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for too long,” Michelle Obama proclaimed.
“It’s the contagious power of hope!” she added.
That “hope” was palpable at a the DNC event, labeled “Boomers for Harris-Walz Rockin’ Doo-Wop Party,” where older Democrats quite literally danced on Biden’s political grave.
Grooving to tunes of their time, the attendees sang classic songs – with the words cringingly tweaked to reflect fanatical support for Harris.
“Joe endorsed Kamala on a Sunday, and our hearts stood still da-doo run, run, run, run, to-do run, run,” they sang in the style of the 1963 hit, “Da Do Ron Ron,” by The Crystals.
“And then I wrote that Kamala called her partner, Tim, da do do run, run, run doo wop.”
And to the tune of The Tokens’ 1961 song’s “Wimoweh” chorus, they sang: “Kamaaala, Kamaaala, let’s vote Trump away.”
But Republicans including Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) have stressed this week that all the Democrats’ “joy” and good vibes Harris is running on are not “going to put food on the table.”
Most of the seniors The Post spoke to said they were ready to move on from Biden and embrace the Harris “future,” recognizing that the 81-year-old president had to step down.
The cheerful, yet subdued mood was similar to the rest of the DNC venue downtown, as The Post saw a sparse number of others dancing at “Dem-palooza” in downtown Chicago and taking pictures of the fake Kamala coconut shack with a sign for “Mamalatinis.”
Biden suspended his campaign one month ago on July 21 after facing mounting pressure about his ability to win voters after his debate performance against Trump.
The White House refused to acknowledge that there were any worries about his age, but Biden cracked a joke about being “too old” to be president during the first night of the DNC.
The first night of the DNC was heavily attributed to Biden’s legacy, but by the second night, he was barely mentioned.
The president jetted away to California for a vacation with first lady Jill Biden after his late-night Monday speech, prompting Trump to claim Biden was “unhappily sunbathing” on the beach as his former supporters were partying in the Windy City.
Trump, 78, chided that Biden “is now unhappily sunbathing on a Beach in California, watching the waves, and thinking how much he hates Barack Hussein Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, and Lightweight Movie ‘Star’ George Clooney, who failed to come to Crooked Joe’s defense” in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
Trump claimed Biden is “seething” at the Democratic darlings who spoke at the convention and accused Vice President Kamala Harris of undercutting her boss.
“I watched Joe Biden Monday night and was amazed at his ANGER at being humiliated by the Democrats. I was happy to have played a part in his demise,” he said, referencing his June 27 debate with Biden that led to the latter’s demise.
Trump and his allies have been eager to capitalize on any perception of bad blood between Biden and Democrats at the convention. Senior Trump adviser Brian Hughes stressed to reporters Wednesday that Biden was barely mentioned during the second night of programming at the convention.
“[It’s] more evidence that Harris and the DNC are desperate to sort of gaslight America and detach her from the horrible record that she shares with Joe Biden,” he said at a counter-press conference at the Trump Hotel Chicago.
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Prior to Biden’s exit, many Democrats had been in a state of despair, sweating over alarming poll numbers pegging Trump with a strong advantage ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Voters “had a deep concern about whether or not President Biden was able to do the job for the next four years,” Goyle admitted, alluding to consternation about the president’s age and mental acuity
He claimed the angst about Biden was not an indictment of his performance, insisting that the president’s policies are popular.
Moe Vela, a former senior advisor to Biden, echoed that assessment.
“[Biden] came to the realization that many people had come to, which was that our chances of winning with him as the nominee were diminishing,” Vela said, while commending Biden for “putting our nation and our democracy and our people first over his own self-interest.”
