AFTER THE CONVENTIONS: Media and partisans have been focused on Harris and Trump public appearances of recent days.
Trump has been faulted for speaking at an Arlington Cemetery event honoring deceased veterans. Staff members, it was reported, pushed around Cemetery staff in making arrangements. And it was inappropriate to use the Cemetery for what amounted to a campaign appearance.
Harris -Walz did a brief interview on CNN. Critics said CNN could be expected to favor them and that Harris did not sufficiently explain recent policy reversals and confusions. And why was Walz there?
Neither matter, one suspects, was of even remote interest to voters except those already committed to either Trum or Harris. If the two debate Sept. 10, as originally scheduled, voters will be watching and looking for any gaffe which might hurt either candidate’s 2024 fortunes (as President Biden was hurt terminally in his TV debate with Trump). Presidential campaign debates have historically had a big effect on the eventual campaign outcomes.
This will be a fiercely contested campaign year. Off to a problematic start. When will major foreign and domestic issues be seriously debated? Will either candidate appear more credible than the other? In meantime, small matters should not be inflated into big ones. Voters sense the difference.