Bad vibes: Harris campaign happy talk cant paper over her lousy record

Kamala Harris is running a campaign against herself.The vice president is a left-wing Democrat with an unsalable record in office.So candidate Harris pretends to be something else — a newcomer with a happy message and a bevy of Republican supporters.The trick isn’t working, as recent polls tracing Donald Trump’s ascent demonstrate.It’s almost as if nobody — independents, Republicans or Democrats — associates Dick Cheney with good vibes.

Yet Harris is out on the trail boasting of his support: That’s not joy, it’s desperation.Harris was counting on winning the election by surprise, replacing Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket before voters could stop to ask just what they were getting.She put off doing major interviews as long as she could, for fear they’d lead to exactly what everyone saw in her Fox News appearance last week.The vice president didn’t want to be asked about her record because it’s atrocious: Month-on-month inflation peaked above 9% midway through the Biden-Harris years.She’s a border czar presiding over a broken border, while in foreign policy Harris and Biden have delivered only humiliation and horror from Afghanistan to Ukraine and the Middle East.Four more years of the same isn’t a pitch voters will go for.Instead, Harris tries happy talk — but she’s not at all pleased when voters talk back.“You guys are at the wrong rally,” she scolded attendees who shouted, “Jesus is Lord!” at a Wisconsin stop.Her campaign messaging is growing increasingly apocalyptic — and hypocritical.

Harris surrogates and media amplifiers can’t stop talking about fascism and the end of American democracy, even as they rebuke Trump for intemperate language.Comparing Harris’ opponent to Hitler isn’t enough anymore: Anne Applebaum at The Atlantic now writes, “Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini” — all at once! Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories Plea...