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This weekend, I witnessed the Vibe Shift firsthand.
When we met for lunch, my mother’s first topic was the DNC. Who spoke and how great they sounded. How excited she was about the whole thing. She corrected me on “Comma-lah’s” name, which I’d apparently been mispronouncing, and used that as a springboard to discuss Kamala t-shirts. She didn’t mention that watching the DNC had been inspiring enough to get her volunteering to write postcards and stuff mailers. It was clear that she was all-in on the program without ever discussing policy—or even Donald Trump.
Dad chimed in a couple times to note that the overall messaging was much more positive, except for Bernie Sanders, who sounded unchanged from the last ten years. He appreciated this. I’d say he represents a section of the populace with immense distaste for Trump, but a comparable disdain for politicians who spend too much time talking about the man.
I had been under no illusions that Mom would vote anything but Democrat. Dad, not so sure; I’d have given good odds of a protest vote if the Libertarian candidate wasn’t such a non-entity. More likely that he abstained. But the last couple weeks appear to have left him much more comfortable voting D. The same has to be true for Mom, too, as I never saw this level of enthusiasm for anything Biden did or said.
That’s the Vibe Shift: apathy to enthusiasm.
It doesn’t take a coordinated blitz of friendly op-eds, since my parents were getting this straight from the TV. It doesn’t take an iron grip on that TV presentation; the DNC herds their cats, but they can’t convince Bill Clinton to get off stage. And it doesn’t even take a winning policy slate. The Democrat base, the casual never-Trumpers, maybe even the grillpillers? They’re just glad to have a candidate under the retirement age.
I'm obviously not in the position to confirm or deny any vibe shift happening half a world away, but my ongoing frustration with the whole Kamala thing is that there's always at least one degree of separation between the enthusiasm and the person reporting it's existence. I'd love to hear the thoughts of an earnest supporter, starting with what they're hoping to get from her that they weren't getting for the past 4 years.
As someone now leaning Kamala (despite having some nasty things to say about her earlier), she isn't embarrassing in the same way Biden was (or Trump, to a lesser extent, is). When she does something goofy, it's more endearing than terrifying.
I'm unhappy with both candidates' "policy platforms," but in the end neither will be enacted to a meaningful extent. Kamala's also more allied with my geography and employers, so I might receive more benefits from federal largesse.
Does that count as enthusiasm? Hah. My vote doesn't matter anyway.
Pardon if I get something wrong in the process of paraphrasing, but if the argument is "I think the Democrats' managerial apparatus is better (or more aligned with your interests, as you seem to be saying) than Trump's, and Kamala is a superior skinsuit for it compared to Biden" then it's something I can respect, and it can serve as a starting point for a conversation. I'd have some follow-up questions about what this says about the state of your democracy, but I can accept "it is what it is". I also understand how the tee-hee-heeing about all the fun the Blues are having in their tree house, and how us chuds are not invited, is part of the campaign and has to be blasted through the media (social or otherwise), but I don't see how that can serve as a start for a conversation, and so I am left somewhat frustrated with the utter state of the discourse.
A bit of column A, a bit of column B, and some caveats, but yeah, that's a fair paraphrase.
If you're asking me to make the media blitz and astroturfed social media campaign somehow palatable or something that's worth rationally participating in, well, that's a big ask. The thing that pushes me most towards Trump is seeing that and thinking "Trump losing will make those people happy."
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