Irish Examiner view: Democrats and Kamala Harris back in the race thanks to 'Cool Americana'

For now, all eyes, and ears, are focussed on Kamala Harris as she prepares for her first head-to-head with Donald Trump on Tuesday

Democratic presidential nominee US vice president Kamala Harris. Picture: Erin Schaff/The New York Times/AP

It seems a long time ago that the prospect of a live TV debate between US president Joe Biden and his Republic challenger, Donald Trump, was being greeted with a collective yawn.

The received wisdom was that these set-piece electoral events didn’t change anything. The format was past its sell-by date. Nothing to see here, please move along.

Some 76 days later, we know how wrong that was. After a car crash of a performance on June 27 by the incumbent, it took three and a half weeks for advisors, friends, and campaign managers to persuade Biden that age was not just a number.

There is, no doubt, a best-selling book (probably written by Bob Woodward), a film, and a streaming mini-series in gestation which will reveal all the dramas and intrigues of that interregnum.

But for now, all eyes, and ears, are focussed on Kamala Harris as she prepares for her first head-to-head with Trump on Tuesday.

The broadcast will air at 9pm Eastern Time (that is 2am on Wednesday in Ireland). It will be the seventh presidential debate for Trump, and the first for Harris.

It is also her first debate for four years when she and Trump’s 2020 running mate, Mike Pence, faced off through plexiglass shields during the covid-19 pandemic.

It’s easy now to forget how faltering Harris was in her opening spell as heir apparent. One commentator said the Democrats were “goosed” if they had to rely on the vice-president.

Since then, the turnaround has been remarkable.

In the intervening weeks, it is Trump who has looked faltering, uncertain, and grasping at straws.

In the last few days, Liz Cheney, the forceful pro-gun, anti-abortion, daughter of a one-time Republican vice-president, has declared that she will be voting for Harris in November.

Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming, has established herself as the most vocal high-profile opponent of the former president of the US in her party, and told cheering Duke University students she had made her decision “because of the danger that Trump poses”.

Improvements in opinion polls for Harris have also persuaded the Trump campaign to switch resources away from marginal states such as Minnesota, Virginia, and New Hampshire.

On Biden’s watch, the Republicans were boasting that they could win, but the Harris revival has left their support flaccid and strategists are redirecting their efforts towards “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania which are viewed as bellwethers for the national vote this autumn.

Much of the momentum behind Harris has been generated by the ‘Cool Americana’ appeal of her campaign to the young.

Surveys indicate that she commands up to 60% of the youth vote while Trump returns barely one-third.

While we can observe that we populate a world of extended adolescence and fragile feelings, Tuesday’s debate will test whether the Harris bandwagon can plough through the down and dirty politics of the mainstream US.

For now, it is enough to say that the Democrats are back in the race, something which would have been difficult to countenance two months ago with Biden leading them to oblivion.

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Consumers should have the last laugh

The trailer for the new Joaquin Phoenix movie about The Joker proclaims that “we use music to make us whole... to balance the fractures within ourselves”.

That deadpan delivery from Arthur Fleck can bring us full circle in a week which saw fomo about the prospect of an Oasis revival transmute into a fury about their complicity in a marketing and ticketing scam which was wholly immoral if not illegal, which any repeat behaviour may well become, if Fianna Fáil TDs get their way, with future legislation.

The Gallaghers have been quick to distance themselves from this particular folie à deux — it was their management team which signed off on the concept that dynamic pricing should be a constituent of their offer to the public.

Given that customers were not told in advance that prices would more than double as tickets became more difficult to obtain, there is at least an arguable case that fans could sue Ticketmaster, perhaps as part of a class action, for an egregious abuse of consumer law.

Some lawyers think the fact customers were not told at regular intervals how many tickets were left, or how many people were in the queue, constitutes misrepresentation and a breach of rights.

Monopoly power breeds arrogance. We need people in Ireland who contain the spirit of the likes of Ralph Nader and Erin Brockovich. More consumer champions and fewer “influencers” would be welcome.

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A peaceful match day would be a fine result

Any concerns, or feelings of reassurance, which citizens might have about British police “spotters” being used in Dublin to identify travelling troublemakers may not be allayed by recent experiences in this respect.

Crowd control of English soccer fans has not recovered from the reputational damage created in the summer of 2021, when thousands of ticketless supporters broke into the national stadium and created mayhem in the now notorious ‘Wembley Jib’. On that occasion, although they deny it, British police lost control of a major event, the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England. There were fights with stewards and officers as the gates were rushed. Many ticket-holders were unable to take up their seats.

Although Ireland has not witnessed significant football disorder since the Lansdowne Road riot of nearly 30 years ago, when trouble provoked by extreme right-wing groupings led to the match being abandoned after 27 minutes, there are acute concerns about this match given the summer of discontent which has just taken place.

While there have been calls before the Nations League encounter for England fans to “respect local culture”, sensible precautions, including reaffirming the importance of street drinking bans, and cancelling all Garda leave, point to heightened sensitivities.

Some 50,000 are expected to attend at the Aviva Stadium and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has designated it an “extraordinary event” to be policed by 1,100 officers.

This is the second encounter between the teams in the Republic since that dark occasion in 1995. The last time, in 2015, then England manager Roy Hodgson called for an end to the ‘No Surrender to the IRA’ chant which was, and continues to be, favoured by some sections of the travelling support.

The Garda’s Operation Dearóil commenced last night and will function until tomorrow and will draw on their experience of managing unruly stag parties visiting Dublin.

Thousands of fans are expected to arrive without tickets and to soak up the atmosphere in the capital. The early evening kick-off provides a potential for all-day drinking in the city centre.

Seasoned observers will be aware, also, that it is not solely a generous supply of alcohol which leads to bad behaviour and fraying tempers. There is a plentiful stash of cocaine among some sections of football support leading to heightened aggression and reckless behaviour.

It is a bizarre situation when so many Irish people regularly support Premier League teams and there is so much crossover between the peoples of both nations. England star Declan Rice has family links to Cork; grandparents of Jack Grealish hail from Galway and Kerry. Both wore the green jersey at various levels before opting for England. Conor Gallagher used his Irish passport to circumvent restrictions on non-EU players to assist his big-money move to Atlético Madrid.

Also visiting today is Keir Starmer, for the first time in his new role as British prime minister, at the invitation of Taoiseach Simon Harris. Following intergovernmental talks, he will be attending the match.

The stage is set for a reset in Irish-Anglo relations. Peace breaking out on and off the field of play would be a helpful contribution.

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