The Ultimate “Secret Sauce” For Kamala Harris’s Campaign

In 24 hours we’ll have a pretty good idea of which way this election is going to go. But while we wait for that, I may as well go back a notch and tell y’all that I think got us here to where we are.

With Kamala Harris’s incredible surge since being made the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party, most knowledgeable observers have credited Harris with running a near perfect campaign. And from where I’m sitting, there’s a damn good reason for it.

It was something that was said a few days ago on MSNBC that brought it into focus for me. A recent segment showed that Traitor Tot has been running for President this year for a record breaking 720 days. Obviously that’s a total outlier.

But here’s the skinny. Even in a normal presidential cycle, candidates start creating exploratory committees in the spring before the election year. Then they float trial balloons by making visits to early primary states to check their sea legs. And if they sense an opportunity there, then they declare their nomination for President.

Most of those candidates start campaigning in earnest in the early primary states in the early fall, 4-5 months before the first caucus and primary votes are cast. Which means that they almost all garner at least some media coverage. Read that as opportunities to f*ck up. 

Then it’s a six month stretch of frenzied campaigning, starting in Iowa and New Hampshire, and moving on into the other primary states. And all of which means, especially for the favorite early horses, even more opportunities to f*ck up. And for the survivor, it’s on to the general election cycle, and more opportunities to f*ck up. See Flop Gov Ron Pissantis of Florida for a poster child of what I’m talking about.

A couple of days ago a political analyst on MSNBC said that in general, once a candidate actually declares a run for national office, it takes an average of 90-120 days for their initial message to break through all of the clutter and start to resonate with voters. Then it’s up to the candidate and the campaign to fine tune the message to start resonating with more and more voters. The average presidential cycle for serious contenders who succeed is 445 days. All the time in the world to f*ck up.

The greatest gift that President Biden gave Kamala Harris was a 105-day campaign cycle. Here’s why. In a normal campaign candidates have to fight their way through a vicious primary cycle, trading pot shots with the other candidates and getting bloodied up in the process. All of which only gives the opponent of the eventual survivor free ammo to lob at them.

Biden gifted Harris with a wide-open glide slope. She didn’t have to fight her way through a protracted primary, getting bloodied by opponents. The lack of opposition let her set up a celebratory and uplifting national convention, getting her message across unopposed. Her only serious competitor was a fat, old Peach Penguin who had no idea of how to deal with her or lay a glove on her

Don’t get the wrong idea here. Harris started off behind the 8-ball. Biden was running for reelection, Harris wasn’t running for President. This meant that the reelection campaign structure, as well as the fundraising structure was controlled by Biden’s campaign staff. This left Harris with the daunting task of creating her own campaign and fundraising structure in 104 days. Which she did flawlessly by leaving the Biden structure in place, and put in senior advisors with equal authority to merge the two together. This was easy, since Biden had pledged complete cooperation.

The rest was almost too easy. The media bitched and moaned that Harris wasn’t giving them enough deference with exclusive interviews and pressers, but Harris had bigger fish to fry.

The Biden campaign already had a messaging plan in place, touting the accomplishments of the administration. Harris smartly left that message in place, touting the accomplishments, then inserting the many ways that her administration would be different from the Biden administration. And while she was doing it, Traitor Tot wasn’t laying a finger on her.

Harris’s message was tailored to be the perfect message at the perfect time. She had a message of hope to a country battered by four years of Traitor Tot despair. She offered unity after a decade of Trump division. She offered to turn the page on a chapter in American history that the majority of Americans wished had never been written. And El Pendejo ex Presidente gave her a campaign a boost by repeatedly melting down in the last month of the campaign.

But by far and away, the most precious gift that President Biden gave to Kamala Harris was the 105-day election cycle. Take my word for it. There is no way that any candidate, no matter how prepared or well coached, can survive a 445-day grind of politicking can get through without f*cking up. But for a career prosecutor, used to advance planning for closing arguments, and a career politician used to feeling the pulse, 105 days was a walk in the park.

We’ll have a pretty good idea by this time tomorrow night how the wind is blowing. But if Harris pulls this off, and I am highly confident that she will, she can thank the shortened campaign time frame that helped to protect her from unwanted and even unnecessary gaffes. Thank you President Biden.

I thank you for the privilege of your time.

Support the site with a subscription today and see no more ads!

Go Ad-free Now!