Today's News: "Brace yourselves"

Americans are wondering how they will deal with a three-month presidential campaign -- of course, the rest of the world is saying "that long? Ours are just a few weeks!". 

Just this year, England and France have both campaigned and voted in the few months between the US primaries and Biden's withdrawal. 

But America is used to a more leisurely pace.

What amuses me is how some political reporters are commenting how short the time frame is for Kamala - 100 days! They'd be gobsmacked to know we do it in a 36 day campaign normally. #cdnpoli #uspoli #uspolitics https://t.co/q1FX1fWVzi

— 🇨🇦 Scott Tribe 🇨🇦 (@stribe39) July 31, 2024

Here is Josh Marshall talking about the unprecedented dynamics of a 100-day US presdential campaign:

...something totally unheard of and unprecedented in modern American political history. American presidential campaigns last at least 18 months. In some ways they’re perpetual. But there’s nothing in recent American history to compare to what Kamala Harris is doing right now.

The Trump campaign is obviously furious about the switch. Vance called it a sucker punch. They essentially wasted their convention on the wrong candidate. You can understand why they’re mad.

But the key part that stands out to me is this: a huge amount of modern Republican campaigns are based on wearing down a Democratic politician over months and years in the right-wing echo chamber. We saw it with Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Biden, Kerry. It’s a well, well worn thing. But it takes time. There are seldom knock-out punches. It’s a slow osmotic process. And the critical part of it takes place at the nexus where what’s happening in the right wing echo chamber bleeds into and begins to shape mainstream media reporting.

Obviously we don’t know how this campaign is going to play out. Looks pretty good ten days in, but there’s ten times more days coming. But regardless of how it plays out, this blitz factor — something totally new and unexpected right as the true campaign starts — is clearly wreaking havoc not only with the Trump campaign but with the whole far-flung Republican political and media apparatus.

Obviously there was no planning any of this. It only becomes possible out of the ashes of an electoral disaster. But some portion of what we’re seeing now derives from the fact that this late switch simply breaks the structure of American presidential politics and has, at least for the moment, allowed Harris to begin the presidential sprint while her opponent’s campaign is still trying to make sense of what happened.

This seems prescient:

I hope that everyone is clear-eyed about the fact that the extraordinary burst of enthusiasm & unity around Harris grinds against every instinct of the US political press. They are not going to sit back & let it continue organically. Brace yourselves for immense backlash.

— David Roberts (@drvolts) July 30, 2024

I'll admit, I was surprised by the party's ability to pull off this transition so smoothly, with such good vibes. The political media was surprised too. It's on its back foot, unsure of how to penetrate it & start fomenting infighting. But they'll figure something out.

— David Roberts (@drvolts) July 30, 2024

Already, the Trump campaign and Republicans have finally figured out an attack like against Harris and the New York Times is dutifully concern-trolling as though it is actually a serious problem -- she's not "really Black".

This is the first day of the campaign that felt like it could have been from 2016 or 2020 pic.twitter.com/hm57jaCImY

— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) July 31, 2024

Now THIS is how you write a headline. Well done @MotherJones pic.twitter.com/Djp42ZFdCm

— Andrew—Author of America Rises On Substack (@AmoneyResists) July 31, 2024

Trump went to a Black journalists association meeting today to try it out. But he just doesn't have the capacity to float trial balloons anymore:

To say Trump's appearance was a trainwreck is an understatement. WOW. https://t.co/B9svxz7FKM

— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) July 31, 2024

I wish to personally express my sincerest gratitude to whomever it is on the Trump campaign who convinced Trump it was a good idea to have him appear before the @NABJ. Whoever you are, you are a true patriot, and your country is in your debt.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 31, 2024

Media: This is a test. Will you keep Trump's racism on page one for 3 weeks, demand he exit the race, press every R to comment on it, consult African American studies experts, talk to communities of color ? You know, do your job as resolutely as you did on Biden's age. Try it.

— Jen "We aren't going back " Rubin 🥥🌴 (@JRubinBlogger) July 31, 2024

And on a lighter note:

Credit where credit is due — George W. Bush called all of this back in January of 2017: pic.twitter.com/D6KQ09lgmX

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) July 31, 2024

I just gave this man $100 bucks. You never know. pic.twitter.com/eziCQF4I3w

— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 30, 2024