In a blind date, the most complicated moment is not the first conversation, but the second. This moment to check if the initial alchemy is maintained and if it has the possibility of becoming something more important. For Tim Walzthe governor of Minnesota and number two of the Democratic presidential candidacy, took place this Wednesday his second crucial meeting with his potential voters. After his introduction two weeks ago as Kamala Harris' running mateWho had left a good taste in the mouths of his supporters, his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this Wednesday to accept the nomination must have convinced them that, even if they barely know him, the bet on him and Harris is worth it.
In the packed stands listening to Walz at the United Center, the Chicago Bulls' stadium converted into the convention site, there was no doubt that he had dazzled his audience with a story in which he presented himself as a representative of the American middle class, a sly, common-sense family man with whom those who see the Democratic Party as representing intellectual elites or a group of “left-wing radicals,” as their Republican rivals describe them, can identify.
“It is the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States,” he began. “We are here united for one precious reason: we love this country.”
Walz's mission was primarily to explain to the public who he is: Until just a month ago, he was a politician virtually unknown outside his state, who only began to gain a little more traction after his use of the adjective “strange” to describe candidates from the rival party went viral in a television interview.
In just three weeks, he has gone from being a retiring governor who was not in the initial pool of possible candidates. number two of the electoral formula led by Harris, to be the Democratic candidate for vice-president. However, despite the media exposure he has enjoyed since his selection, four out of ten Americans admit to having neither a good nor a bad image of the former high school teacher, according to a poll published a few hours before the speech by the AP Agency.
Knowing what's happening outside means understanding what's going to happen inside, not missing anything.
Many of those who admit they don’t know much about Walz are part of the large minority coalition that represents much of the Democratic base. Three in 10 Democratic voters say they have no strong opinion about him. Four in 10 women say the same; so do 40 percent of those under 45. Half of African-American adults and 40 percent of Latinos don’t have him on their radar either.
Walz presented himself with a simple, concise message, much like the one he delivers at every rally. He combined a description of his rural roots and ordinary values with a harsh critique of his Republican opponents. His speech, as he himself admitted, was less the style of a typical politician than the harangue of the football coach he has been for years.
“We have the ball”
In this presidential campaign, he compared: “There are 10 minutes left and we are losing by one goal. But we have the ball and we are attacking: and what a team we have! “We must go to the death, put pressure on, enter the kitchen, passage by passage, gift by gift, phone call after phone call, knock on the door, after knock on the door”, he encouraged in front of a devoted audience. “We will rest when we are dead!”, he insisted, repeating one of his usual phrases during his rallies.
The former geography teacher and high school coach from a small town in Minnesota spoke of his origins in a small town in Nebraska, a place like so many in the United States where “the people who live next door may not think like you.” They don't pray like you, they don't love like you, but they are your neighbors and you care about each other.
And it influenced his persona as an everyman — a day earlier, former President Barack Obama had joked in his own speech to Congress about Walz’s taste for flannel shirts — a lover of the same things as the average American, including the use of firearms. But in a sensible way: “I’m a hunter, I believe in the Second Amendment.” [de la Constitución, que protege el derecho a portar armas]but I'm also a father. And I believe that a parent's primary responsibility is to keep their children safe” and that children should not fear that a shooting could happen in their school.
The most tender and applauded moment of the evening came when he mentioned his family: his wife, Gwen, and their children Hope, 23; and Gus, 17. “You are my life,” he told them from the podium, as cameras showed the teenager breaking down in tears and shouting, “That’s my dad!”
Far from the party elites
In the selection process of number two Harris, the pools had bet on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, considered one of the party’s emerging stars and who also delivered a cautious speech on Wednesday. But the vice president ultimately chose Walz. In part because of greater personal harmony. In part, because he believed his image as an average American, a hunting enthusiast and a National Guard veteran far removed from the party’s elites, could attract more voters in swing states.
Polls will tell whether the governor has achieved his goal of convincing Americans beyond the United Center to say “yes.” For now, your first test is over. This Thursday, it’s his running mate’s turn. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris will deliver her own speech accepting his candidacy. And he’ll have to convince voters that this enthusiasm they feel, this illusion that has taken over the Democratic base over the past four weeks, is not temporary. That this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
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