Background Briefing: August 28, 2024
As the Press and Republicans Clamour for More Policy Details, Harris/Walz Are Winning on Charisma and Change
We begin with the clamor from Republicans and the press that Kamala Harris should provide more details about her policy plans and sit down with the press, which she and Tim Walz have agreed to do with CNN. Joining us to discuss how FDR and Obama did not run on policy but change and whether policy wins over charisma is Richard Parker, who teaches economics and public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is a Senior Fellow at the Shorenstein Center. He is a former managing editor of Ramparts, was a cofounder of Mother Jones magazine, and serves on the editorial board of The Nation and his books include, The Myth of the Middle Class and John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics.
Today’s Harris/Walz Bus Tour of Georgia
Then we go to Georgia, an important swing state where Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are on a bus tour today, and speak with Alan Abramowitz, Professor of Political Science at Emory University who studies American politics, political parties, elections, and voting behavior. His books include The Polarized Public: Why American Government is so Dysfunctional and The Great Alignment: Race, Party Transformation, and the Rise of Donald Trump.