Joe Biden gets a Kamala bounce

The polls suggest people are happy with her, especially voters of color

Kamala Harris delivered her acceptance speech for the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday night. It was a straightforward big-tent speech delivered by the first black female nominee for a major American political party. She referenced her blackness, her Indian heritage, her glass-ceiling-smashing record as California's first female attorney general.

It was also a passionate, warm speech. I got the sense that Kamala really does serve at the pleasure of the people. There were big platitudes like how the party is "for everyone, no matter where you come from” and how every human being has “dignity” and “infinite worth,” but also specific policy enumeration for health care and income inequality that have become key planks of the Democratic Party’s platform in 2020 and an age of covid.

There are more important questions to ponder, but many are still asking whether her selection will reflect well on Joe Biden and increase the chance that Democrats win the presidency. …