Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for Night 4 of the Democratic National Convention. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rate the evening on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the night was a disaster for Kamala Harris; 10 means it could lead to a big polling bump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought of the event, which included speeches by Gretchen Whitmer, Gabby Giffords and Kamala Harris.
Best Moment
Binyamin Appelbaum, member of the editorial board Kamala Harris’s great-nieces, teaching America how to pronounce her name. And Harris herself, meeting the moment with a performance that was confident, principled — presidential.
Josh Barro, author of the newsletter Very Serious Harris’s speech, especially its beginning about her upbringing and her mother. In past campaigns, Harris has sometimes seemed like an empty vessel. Now she’s reintroducing herself in a way that is specific, warm and uniquely American, and that provides a framework to explain the broadly popular values of freedom and justice she’s espousing.
Charles M. Blow, Times columnist Women ruled the night. There were so many impressive, effective women presenting — culminating with Harris, of course — that the remarkable almost became unremarkable. I had to force myself to pause and absorb the fact that I was witnessing a revolution.
Jamelle Bouie, Times columnist The first three nights of this convention were easily the most successful since 2008, but they would have been for naught had Harris missed the landing with an awkward or underwhelming acceptance speech. She succeeded. But other than a moving introduction, where she told the story of her life and family to the viewing public, this wasn’t a speech about the meaning of her candidacy. It was something closer to a State of the Union — a statement of policies and priorities and an indictment of her opponents. It was as if the campaign had offloaded talk of symbolism to other speakers so that Harris could present herself as ready to be president on Day 1.
Frank Bruni, contributing Opinion writer I wept — no, I bawled — as I listened to the teacher from Sandy Hook, the mother from Uvalde and the others who’d witnessed and lost loved ones to gun violence. That was absolutely gutting. And utterly necessary.
Jane Coaston, contributing Opinion writer They landed the dismount. Harris’s speech was well delivered and rhetorically effective, and aimed at a defined audience: the middle of the electorate.
Liam Donovan, Republican strategist Gabby Giffords was the feel-good story of the night — just a remarkable recovery and delightful return to form.
Michelle Goldberg, Times columnist Kamala Harris’s grandnieces teaching America how to pronounce her name.
Matt Labash, author of the newsletter Slack Tide God bless Adam Kinzinger for telling the truth about his (and my) party, now corrupted to its core. MAGA snowflakes get triggered by him, suggesting he’s a RINO Judas. But the actual reason they hate him is that he reminds them of something they abandoned years ago: their integrity.
Tressie McMillan Cottom, Times columnist The charming pep talk from the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, was good political messaging. His prominent speaking slot just before Harris’s acceptance speech says that the Democrats are serious about winning battleground states. Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson — four of the men once known as the Central Park Five and who now prefer the Exonerated Five — were a powerful reminder of why Donald Trump is dangerous.
Megan K. Stack, contributing Opinion writer The first five minutes or so of Harris’s acceptance speech were genuinely affecting, and a pleasure to watch. Her personal story is complex and compelling, and she has a charisma and an audience connection that we haven’t seen for quite some years in a major presidential candidate.
Worst Moment
Appelbaum D.L. Hughley’s cheap stand-up comedy set. Not the place, not the time.
Barro While Harris’s speech put a laser focus on Democrats’ most popular ideas, some earlier parts of the night’s programming did not, particularly an activist-focused section in which John Russell, an influencer from Appalachia, indulged the fantasy that Democrats’ climate policies might help them reconnect with the working class.
Blow It’s a tie, again, and they both make me sound like a stodgy old man. First, I learned a new acronym: FUBAR. Don’t google that! It’s N.S.F.W. Then the D.J. had the crowd lift their flags and sing along to Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz’s “Get Low.” Again, don’t google that!
Bouie It was significant that the vice president spoke in full support of Palestinian self-determination, but that gesture was undermined by the unwillingness of Democrats to let Palestinian Americans speak for themselves on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza.
Bruni I respect Leon Panetta and understand the significance of a former defense secretary vouching for Harris. But in the run-up to the Big Speech? His high-import, low-energy remarks should have occupied a different, earlier slot.
Coaston Whoever fueled the rumors that Beyoncé would perform probably drove higher viewership, but man, an actual Beyoncé appearance would have been cool.
Donovan No obvious blunders beyond the anticlimax after a much-hyped surprise guest never materialized, although Mark Kelly’s rather dull speech made a great retroactive case for Tim Walz.
Goldberg No Beyoncé?!!!?
Labash The actress Kerry Washington is generally adorable. But when she called on the whole arena to take a selfie with her and her “Scandal” co-star, the ordeal was yet another awful reminder that nothing in American life seems to count anymore unless our phones are involved.
McMillan Cottom The omission of a Palestinian speaker. An easy political win that should have been logistically possible.
Stack The petty refusal, after much convoluted negotiation, to grant a Palestinian speaker even a few minutes onstage discounted the many Democrats who have long called for a cease-fire. More important, with more than 40,000 dead in Gaza, this omission was callous and simply wrong.
What Else Caught Your Eye?
Appelbaum This final night, like the previous three, wasn’t really about Harris — and it’s not supposed to be. It was a group portrait of Americans and the things they want from their government. So many voices raised in hope, and in fear. And the candidate as nothing more, and nothing less, than the vehicle for those aspirations. “Kamala Harris, for the people.”
Barro Giffords continues to recover in a remarkable and inspiring way.
Blow The threat of Trump as a primary motivator has re-entered the chat. There was a parade of people victimized by Republican policies, obstruction or intransigence or victimized by Trump’s own rhetoric. Even Harris’s speech was dominated by the threat of Trump. Yes, there was dancing, but it shared space with damnation.
Bouie People are not exaggerating when they describe Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan as a presidential-level talent.
Bruni Given the superstar lineup of the final night, the remarks of Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida will probably be lost. But the youngest member of Congress — he’s 27 — exhibited incredible poise, polish and charisma. He makes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pete Buttigieg look like late-blooming laggards.
Coaston The convention was weighted toward the prime-time viewership hours with staid moderate voices (including Republicans). It’s an interesting choice.
Donovan A vibes speech for a vibes election, but Harris continues to exceed modest expectations and avoid the Republican-painted caricature. Nothing flashy, but a well-delivered address that touched all the bases while explicitly appealing to the political center.
Goldberg Harris didn’t talk about glass ceilings; the message at the convention was “She’s for you,” not, as it was with Hillary Clinton, “I’m with her.” But the women who packed the United Center seemed very aware of the historic nature of her candidacy, and great numbers of them wore suffragette white.
Labash Harris did very well tonight — arguably her best performance. Democrats threw a largely seamless convention. Confidence is good. But overconfidence leads to reality denial. Here’s the truth: Harris is still behind in five out of seven swing states. So Democrats shouldn’t unlace those hiking boots until they’ve actually summited Mount Comeback.
McMillan Cottom Everyone will be talking about Gov. Wes Moore after this convention. They should be. I will be talking about Alabama’s Shomari Figures, who has a dynamic political biography and displayed a stunningly confident speaking style for a young elected official. The Democratic Party is taking working-class voters seriously.
Stack Spotlighting the exonerated Central Park Five was politically deft. Harris is campaigning as a prosecutor — hardly a job universally esteemed by Democratic voters. The wrongly imprisoned men stirred memories of Trump’s crude calls for execution and allowed Harris to bask in their endorsement.
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