The Interview
Yes, it happened. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz sat with CNN's Dana Bash last night
In past election years, the nominees of both parties would have done a dozen or more sit down sessions with journalists. This election year, pressure for a “first” interview with Kamala Harris has been building, mostly thanks to a press corps that cannot imagine a candidate reluctant to sit down with them.
I found the anticipation around the interview somewhat odd in that Kamala Harris has been conducting interviews with journalists for decades. Not to mention that her five week sprint to secure the nomination, select a running mate and get through a successful convention seemed to be going pretty well without “the interview.”
Well, it happened last night and it is worth watching. CNN broke the session into 3 parts for online viewing in case you missed it last night:
The messages Kamala Harris wanted to get on the record were delivered. She was clearly prepared, perhaps overly so. I thought the questions were thoughtful and Dana Bash was at all times respectful while probing some of the more delicate subjects about which people have concerns.
What I found most interesting was what I would describe as the “range of sincerity.” I don’t mean that what was said was ever something Kamala Harris does not now believe. But, some of the answers felt prepared and tested. Her moments of greatest sincerity came around her discussion of President Biden as well as sharing a reaction to the photo of her niece at the Convention. There was just more emotion, for me at least, as she spoke of the call on that Sunday when she learned from Joe Biden that he would not run again (Part 3) and when she was asked what a unique photograph from the Convention meant to her.
It should also be said that Tim Walz’s most moving answer came in response to a question about the admiration his son demonstrated at the Convention.
In 1988, I came to believe that these sessions were more about giving voters a sense of who the candidate is and what moves and motivates them. Like it or not, then and even more so now, people have become very good at reading feelings through a video session.
If I was an advisor - and, I am not - I would show Kamala Harris her strongest emotional moments and her weakest. Then, I’d figure out how to help her deliver answers with more sincerity. That probably means, less preparation and fewer coaches. By the way, this is true not just with interviews but also with televised debates.
Now, you decide.
The manner in which Harris replied to most questions seemed scripted, rehearsed and lacking in conviction. It seemed as though the "prosecutor/lawyer" was talking. Apparently her career experience has caused a slightly defensive characteristic in her attitude in the interview process..
The Harris/Walz ticket seems scripted but not prepared. Prepping answers to likely questions only makes them look ready door the world’s most awesome role. The notion you can change policies 180 degrees without changing your values is just, well, the stuff that comes out of the south end of a north bound bull. Unless, of course, your values are to say anything you think will get you elected.