So Harris did an interview lots of people argued she needed to do—and nothing she said will disturb the trajectory of the campaign. The trajectory is running her way, so she did her job. Harris bought herself more runway right to the Sept. 10 debate.

This is a very important (and careful) study that deserves a lot of attention. Biden’s investment policies are helping the “left out” places in the U.S., rebuilding manufacturing while fighting climate change. Trump’s talk vs. action. (Click through to the report.)

Those who saw Kamala Harris’s talent in 2010 expected what we’re seeing; they’re not surprised by her breakthrough. Those who judged her by her 2020 primary campaign are. The difference is in the politics of policy My column-free access wapo.st/47cGBDq

#HarrisWalz2024 Excellent EJ Dionne piece on how Kamala Harris has embraced the Biden Doctrine of melding labor friendly center-left politics with progressive policy to ascend like a rocket as a presidential candidate, fulfilling the promise that led Karl Rove work hard to

It’s a mistake to see politics & policy as disconnected—to cast “politics” as some grubby, self-interested thing & “policy” as an elevated, cerebral exercise in serving the common good. In fact, good policy needs smart politics. Harris’s rise is linked to a new politics of policy

Harris’s natural gifts have come out as they did not in 2020 because the policy ground Harris had hoped to occupy then is now her party’s center of gravity. Marrying Biden’s pro-labor moderation with progressive aspirations is key. My column-free access wapo.st/47cGBDq

How Harris’s promise of 2010 triumphed over the pain of 2020 — ⁦EJ Dionne⁩ washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/…

How the center left re-embraced politics as central to policymaking, delivering huge wins for climate and jobs. Dionne: "The truth is that, in a democracy, good policy without successful politics is impossible. The two always interact."

If you want to understand the frightening success of the far right in state elections this weekend in eastern Germany, I recommend this excellent Financial Times essay by my ⁦The Brookings Institution⁩ colleague ⁦Constanze Stelzenmüller⁩. on.ft.com/3XhJpKW

The internationalization of “weird”! “Voters beginning to think [UK] Conservatives are ‘weird’, research suggests.” ⁦The Guardian⁩ search.app/dYyHvhed6L8SQo…

President Joe Biden just mentioned the Molly Maguires. Here’s who they were: history.com/news/who-were-… canals.org/2023/03/08/the…

Want to know how Trump would govern? Look at the budgets he offered as president that “proposed reductions in social programs [that] fell primarily on programs for people with low or modest incomes.” A rigorous & important analysis by Robert Greenstein. hamiltonproject.org/publication/po…

Thanks, Rick, for your work on behalf of democracy.

They don’t want you to know about this

“If President Biden’s age merited extensive, focused coverage…then surely Trump’s visible incoherence, cognitive impairment, inability to cogently discuss the simplest public matters & increasingly strange flights of fantasy deserve equivalent treatment.” Important Greg Sargent

Close to a Goldilocks jobs report: Positive on jobs and wages but not so high as to stop the Fed from cutting interest rates. Big question: Will the Fed cut a full half point or is this so strong it will do only a quarter point? Long trend justifies half—but I am not the Fed!

“Trump’s nonsensical rambling” was a timely reminder of deterioration & that he “doesn’t know or care about public policy, and he routinely has trouble faking it.” V-good from Steve Benen. If Harris talked that way, there’d be “word salad” headlines everywhere. Double standard.