NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.  

State of play: 

• 75 days to the election 
• 19 days to the debate set for Sept. 10
• 32 days since Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the candidacy, and she still hasn’t had a meaningful interaction with the press 
• Decision Desk HQ average: Harris +2.5, as of around 12 p.m. ET today. Click here to see the latest numbers.

“Nobody Said a Damn Thing”

Despite what you hear from critics, the Harris-Walz campaign has said an awful lot about policy — you just need to listen. 

• Take last night, for example, and the freedoms enumerated by Tim Walz.
  • Your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall = mandatory gun buybacks as Kamala Harris once said, aka confiscations 
  • Freedom to make your own health care decisions = no restrictions on abortions 
  • “We mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love” = Affirmative action, among other DEI and progressive initiatives 
  • The “golden rule” of “mind your own damn business” = COVID snitch hotlines like those Walz started in Minnesota. 
  • He went on: “When Republicans use the word ‘freedom,’ they mean … ‘corporations’ — free to pollute your air and water. And banks — free to take advantage of customers.”
    • To combat that, Harris-Walz could ban fracking, as she suggested in 2019, or implement price controls as she suggested last week. 

The “Nobody said a damn thing” line comes from Scott Jennings on CNN last night. 

• He isn’t wrong. Walz’s speech lacked policy, but there are plenty of “dog whistles” — as Democrats love to say of Republicans. 

One more dog whistle:

• Singing the national anthem tonight: The (Dixie) Chicks!  
  • The Chicks probably best represent where Democrats are right now: 

• Democrats want to culturally appeal to Americans guided by traditional values that listen to country music, but rather than choose say, Garth Brooks, they pick The Chicks who were:
  • Known for blasting then-President George W. Bush over the Iraq War 
  • And changing their name during Black Lives Matter because “Dixie” Chicks contained racial overtones. 
• Reality check: Americans are hard to fool — simply having a “country” act doesn’t put you in touch with traditional values.  

As we showed you last night, the “freedom” and “patriotism” agenda is a new marketing campaign of the same progressive values.

Policies have consequences: 

• Walz’s progressive “successes” in Minnesota (see list here) played a large part in his speech last night and Harris’ selection of him.
• “Coach Walz” is a better football coach than policymaker, at least as judged by numbers for elementary school students who are now performing below the national average. 

Full Amnesia!

Biden-Harris Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo best described the new Democratic talking point on the economy yesterday during an ABC news hit: “I’m not familiar with that.”

You really need to click here and watch Raimondo playing completely dumb about the biggest downward revision of job numbers in 15 years by the Biden-Harris Department of Labor. 

• First, she tried to blame it on Trump, but when confronted that the numbers came from her administration, she responded, “I’m not familiar with that.”

Listening to Harris tonight you will soon forget:

• She is the sitting vice president
• Democrats controlled the White House for the past 12 of 16 years 
• For the first two years of the Biden-Harris administration, Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress.

Just on the economy:

• 48.6% of Americans say they are “broke”
• 66.2% feel as though they are living paycheck to paycheck

Walz spoke in the same way last night, as though Democrats spent the past decade wandering through the wilderness, and if only given a chance, they can solve so many problems. 

Flipside: Republicans are running against Harris rather than Michelle Obama, which Bill O’Reilly points out would have been disastrous for them. 

• Or running against Oprah Winfrey — her speech last night brought down the house.
• Including the line, “I’ve seen racism and sexism and income inequality and division. I’ve not only seen it; at times, I’ve been on the receiving end of it.”

Thought bubble: For all the new wrapping of freedom and patriotism, Democrats can’t help going back to their intersectional grievances and fail to recognize there is no other country in the world where Oprah Winfrey from Kosciusko, Mississippi, could become a billionaire TV star. 

This Will Be Forgotten — What’s Next?

Harris is coming off the best 32 days in political history

• Can it get better for her between now and Nov. 5 … we’ll see! 
• Can she keep not talking to the press … we’ll see! 
• Can Trump not take the bait of “counterpunching” … we’ll see! 
• Will the Federal Reserve cut interest rates …we’ll see! 
• Can Trump stay disciplined in the Sept. 10 debate … we’ll see! 
• Can Harris avoid a word salad in the debate … we’ll see! 

Thought experiment: What were the five best quotes from the RNC?! Can you think of even two? NO! That’s the point …

The infomercials (aka conventions) are almost over — the most exciting 74 days in American political history start tomorrow!

Tune into “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C on NewsNation. Find your channel here. 

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.