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.
Editor’s note: Your fearless War Notes team goes on vacation through Labor Day — we wish you good times and memories with those you love. The sprint to November starts Tuesday!
State of play:
- 69 days to the election
- 13 days to the debate set for Sept. 10
- 38 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 +4.3, as of around 12 p.m. ET today. Click here to see the latest numbers.
- PredictIt betting odds: 54 to 48 in favor of Harris
Ten-Word Campaign
“For all things good and against all things Donald Trump” pretty much sums up the Harris campaign — it’s 10 words.
- As my favorite TV president once said, “Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns. They are the tip of the sword.”
- Watch the best presidential debate in history with “West Wing” President Jed Bartlett explaining the problem with 10-word answers.
Kamala Harris’ campaign wants to be all things to all people — it worked for Joe Biden.
- The platitudes and lack of engagement allow for any and all to think she’s their person.
- “Health insurance is a right”
- Does that mean the Obamacare safety net or ending private health insurance?
- “Clean air and water”
- Does that mean banning fracking or something else?
- Does it mean an EV mandate or not?
- “The rich pay their fair share”
- Does that mean taxing unrealized capital gains?
- “Health insurance is a right”
- By design: It’s difficult to nail her down.
- Doing one interview with Tim Walz by her side and Dana Bash asking the questions just continues the opportunities for her to give 10-word answers.
To be fair: It’s working — so why change it?
- More importantly, the media is asking questions about policy, not holding her feet to the fire on her flip-flops.
Cook Political Report says North Carolina is now a “toss-up.”
- Watch our buddy Chris Cillizza talk about it here.
Decision Desk HQ says Michigan now leans Democrat.
Georgia!
- At one point, the Biden campaign all but gave up on the Peach State — now Harris will spend days on a bus tour through rural Georgia.
- It’s the Raphael Warnock model of fighting Republicans for the margins in typically red rural counties.
- Read more: Politico’s write-up explains the “high risk” strategy
- There is a high reward — it’s unclear why there is a high risk.
Watch tonight: Tia Mitchell, Washington correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will talk about the road to victory through Georgia and the 175% increase in the voter registration of young Black women.
BUT BUT BUT – the RealClearPolitics “No Toss-Up States” map shows Trump winning the Electoral College.
- Thought bubble: If after the best 40 days in political history, Harris is still effectively tied with Trump, what can make her win?
Playbook to Win Against DEI
A former Hollywood producer forced some of America’s biggest companies to give up on the sacred cow of DEI.
In the past month, Tractor Supply, Lowe’s, John Deere, Jack Daniel’s and Harley Davidson all made major changes because of an online campaign organized by Robby Starbuck.
Watch some of Starbuck’s videos here.
Starbuck started by going after Tractor Supply — one of many companies that wraps itself in traditional values while going all in on corporate DEI.
- Tractor Supply changed radically.
- Implemented DEI hiring practices
- Participated in environmental activism with carbon-emissions goals
- Decorated for pride month in offices and sponsored events
- Now they:
- Don’t submit data to the Human Rights Campaign
- Withdrew environmental goals
- Removed DEI goals and roles
Silence: What’s most interesting about Starbuck’s crusade is the lack of pushback from all the “diversity is our strength folks” and most notably from McKinsey Consulting, which authored the first papers and studies showing diversity itself led to better business results.
‘Tries to Tether!’
As if JD Vance has committed some mortal sin of politics … Politico tweeted the vice presidential candidate tried “to tether” Harris to the unpopular policies of President Biden.
Context: Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s vice president.
Watch tonight: Geraldo Rivera on Harris’ ability to shed anything and everything of the Biden legacy.
Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
Harris on the rise brings out the worst in Trump. Harris rises and now Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is only two points up in Texas.
Even Trump donors wonder about Trump’s “self-destructive” behavior.
Watch tonight: Sen. Cruz will talk about his Senate race and whether it’s too late for Trump to turn things around.
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.