Harris Hiding

Plus, space language album.

August 16, 2024

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Friday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: Columbia President Minouche Shafik steps down months after protests over Israel-Hamas war gripped campus (CNN)

  • World: Russia to evacuate thousands more from Kursk region attacked by Ukraine (Reuters)

  • Business: Clear for takeoff? Amazon gets green light to test-fly delivery drones in UK (The Guardian)

  • Technology: Google Deletes App On Millions Of Pixel Phones—‘Dangerous’ New Spyware Warning Issued (Forbes)

  • Sports: Mauricio Pochettino set to become USMNT manager as U.S. Soccer lands a marquee coaching hire, per reports (CBS Sports)

And of course, some good news: 2-year-old girl who sings in 'space language' becomes youngest artist to release an album.

POWERED BY MONEY

Safeguarding your retirement with a Gold IRA can help you shield your wealth from market shifts, economic uncertainty, and inflation. And with gold’s value projected to increase in 2024, now is a good time to invest. Planning for retirement involves more than saving, so fortify your portfolio with gold today and plan for a better tomorrow.

Right: States File Lawsuit Seeking To Shut Down 'Bidenbucks', M.D. Kittle, The Federalist

Right: Democrats Trying To Fake Their Way Through Election, Miranda Devine, New York Post

Right: Financial Pressures on Americans Continue To Rise, Salena Zito, Washington Examiner

Left: Why Trump Can't Let Go of Biden, Jeet Heer, The Nation

2024

Harris Hiding

Today’s Top Story: With Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign in full swing, many have noted that she has had virtually no direct interaction with the press in recent weeks.

Reporting from the Left: CNN asks Harris campaign, ‘Would it kill you guys to have a press conference?’ (New York Daily News)

Reporting from the Right: Former Clinton aide Paul Begala defends Harris avoiding the media: 'Who cares?' (Fox News)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

An Avoidant Campaign

The Top Argument From The Right: Kamala Harris’s Avoidant Campaign Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., The Wall Street Journal: “Kamala Harris has a ruthless plan for seeking the presidency. Ruthlessly, she avoids press questioning. Ruthlessly, she has been subtracting from her policy positions, off-loading items to which she was philosophically and politically committed when seeking the presidency in 2020. To avoid having to criticize Donald Trump’s plan to stop taxing tips, she ruthlessly adopted it herself. If she prevails through ruthlessness, she’ll have demonstrated at least one quality useful in a president. … This is what you don’t hear from Ms. Harris: any nuanced sense of concrete realities. If she has it, her campaign deliberately hides it from you. … This is a wilder experiment than it seems. While they may not be a strict majority, millions of American voters have an eye on the wider world. They know that events, not presidents, are ultimately in charge. They know that the ineffable quality of presidential judgment is a know-it-when-you-see-it quality. Ms. Harris, with her low-profile career and now avoidant campaign, is forcing these voters to vote in the dark. If there’s an unseen vulnerability to her steamroller of a strategy, largely ginned up by the media, this is it.”

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Move From Biden’s Playbook

The Top Argument From The Left: As Harris learned from Biden, avoiding interviews is good strategy, Jim Geraghty, The Washington Post: “Harris is the vice president. If she wanted to do a sit-down interview with a major TV network, newspaper or magazine, she could probably get it arranged within an hour or two. … The Associated Press noted, ‘Harris travels with reporters on Air Force Two and frequently talks to them, but her campaign staff insists the conversations are off the record.’ This seems to be largely placating the media covering her campaign. It shouldn’t be perceived that way. … But Harris apparently doesn’t have to explain, or at least isn’t feeling much pressure to do so, because anyone supporting her candidacy — and, let’s face it, that includes plenty of reporters — knows that quizzing Harris closely about her agenda risks helping Trump. … Republican primary voters didn’t punish Trump for skipping the debates and sticking to friendly interviewers. … Few people outside of the conservative press are griping loudly about Harris’s unavailability. Why isn’t the Democratic nominee doing interviews or news conferences? Because not enough people want her to — and, so far, it’s working.”

Honorable Mention #1: Media Complaints About Kamala Harris Clash Wildly With Media Consensus of Five Seconds Ago, Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate.

Honorable Mention #2: Kamala Harris must speak to the press, Margaret Sullivan, The Guardian.

FLAG THIS

Are Americans Paying Attention?

Polling conducted before Harris began her presidential campaign found a majority of Americans (58%) are closely following the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party are slightly more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to say they are closely following election news (64% vs. 58%). Older adults are particularly engaged, with 82% of those aged 65 and older paying close attention compared to just 34% of those aged 18 to 29. (Pew Research Center)

Do you believe politicians running for office should be readily available to speak with the press?

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WATERCOOLER

Nuggets Discovered, E-Trains, A Woman’s Design

On This Day in 1896, while salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory, George Carmack reportedly spotted nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparked the last great gold rush in the American West.

Today I learned Idaho has the only state seal designed by a woman.

POWERED BY MONEY

Safeguarding your retirement with a Gold IRA can help you shield your wealth from market shifts, economic uncertainty, and inflation. And with gold’s value projected to increase in 2024, now is a good time to invest. Planning for retirement involves more than saving, so fortify your portfolio with gold today and plan for a better tomorrow.

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