Lived Experience and the US Election

So, a Biden-Harris ticket it is. After picking Kamala Harris, a woman with an impressive number of firsts behind her name, to be his running mate, the United States’ Joe Biden and the Democrats pulled off a well-produced virtual convention, dizzying in the breadth of its coverage. They harnessed the format to their advantage, projecting the speeches as personal chats, turning the delegates’ roll call from a dry count to an engaging showcase of every state, district and territory in the country, using the keynote address delivered by 17 of its youngest office bearers to prove that even if their candidate is the oldest in American history, the party looks to the future. The overall atmosphere, garnered from the participation of so many ordinary citizens, mimicked Biden’s regular, down-to-earth persona.

The Democrats have a wealth of oratorial talent within their ranks, and their stars did not disappoint. Barack Obama, a wordsmith in a league of his own, abandoned all reticence and went in for the jugular. If Michelle Obama plunged the knife into President Donald Trump, Obama twisted it deep, and with surgical precision went to the core of the matter: that Trump’s performance is so dismal because he is simply incapable. Their anguish at the state of the country seemed deep, honest and raw.