Everybody's closing tabbies for the weekend ...
Jen Psaki states that Kamala Harris is as likeable as Hillary Clinton:
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) August 23, 2024
"Magical charismatic quality in person. People say that about Hillary Clinton. Also true."
'Kamala Harris is as likable as Hillary Clinton' is a wonderful slogan, for the Republicans. pic.twitter.com/QyICgEJ082
Ed: Oof. That's damning with faint praise.
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ nomination acceptance speech Thursday drew an average of 28.9 million viewers across cable television, according to Nielsen ratings — about 500,000 more viewers than tuned in to hear former President Donald Trump at the Republican convention. ...
The figures released Friday mean the 2024 DNC had an average of about 200,000 more viewers than 2020 but 8.2 million less than 2016, when 30 million people watched former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton become the first woman to accept a major party’s presidential nomination.
Ed: They ran a rumor about Beyoncé and/or Taylor Swift to boost interest ... and all they got was 500,000 more viewers? And they fell 8 million viewers short overall of a cycle that Hillary lost? Yikes.
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The vice president’s economic advisers are scrambling to assemble a policy agenda on the fly. Less than five weeks ago, she and her team were still expecting to play a supporting role for Biden, and they had done little to prepare for taking over the White House.
A policy-development process that typically takes presidential candidates months—or years—to get right has been truncated, with just over 70 days to go until the November election. Harris faces the challenge of charting a distinct agenda while still serving under her unpopular boss, making it difficult to disavow Biden’s policy stances.
And every new policy proposal she puts forward gives political ammunition to her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Ed: Gee, I thought she was ready to lead right now! She's been VP for almost four years, and she spent months running for president in 2019 (and months before that prepping). And by the way, debating policy choices is what elections are supposed to be about -- right?
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LMAO CNBC has had it with Warren’s BS😂🤣😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/PiAxjn4676
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) August 23, 2024
Ed: You'd better believe this is one of the main voices in Kamala's ear. That's why she trotted out the spectacularly dumb price "gauging" argument in the first place.
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Of course, the selection of Tim Walz as Harris’s running mate is supposed to help the Democrats claw back some of that lost working-class support. Besides the obvious point that vice-presential picks typically don’t matter much, this seems doubtful given his own electoral record in Minnesota, where his support as governor has skewed toward highly-educated metro areas.
Indeed, even granting Walz the sincerity of his advocacy on economic issues, he fits quite comfortably into the Democrats’ current Brahmin populism.
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"THAT WAS REALLY VERY NICE." Former President Donald Trump thanks Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for his endorsement after the independent suspended his 2024 presidential campaign. pic.twitter.com/MQIr0iF1R4
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 23, 2024
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“Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Cheryl Hines said her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign has been an “eye-opening, transformative and endearing journey” in a statement shared on social media on Friday after Kennedy announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Ed: I doubt that she's going to get too many lunches in Hollywood for a while, especially if Trump wins in November.
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Voter says he will vote for Trump if RFK Jr. drops out:
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 23, 2024
“I feel like at this point the country is turning into everyone VS the Democrats.”
Robert F. Kennedy’s endorsement is absolutely devastating to Harris-Walz. pic.twitter.com/TSOnKcwfXC
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"We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride," said a statement signed by five of the former independent presidential candidate's siblings.
"We believe in Harris and Walz," the statement continued. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story."
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HERE HE IS!!!
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) August 23, 2024
Donald Trump's "Surprise Guest" comes out to an absolutely pumping rock-star entrance:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.!!#DonaldTrump #RFKJr #Arizona pic.twitter.com/lD95i0Zd4r
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