Editorial: Kamala Harris’s joy & hope are great, but America needs real leadership

The cheerleading is in overdrive at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but behind all the hype, Democrats and the mainstream media are setting Kamala Harris up to fail.

Pundits and the press have tossed about the rollercoaster analogy in describing the campaign scene since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. The Hill had this breathless headline Thursday: “Stunning Harris rollercoaster reaches new apex at Democratic convention.”

The problem with rollercoasters is that they also go down.

Former President Bill Clinton hyped Harris as the “president of joy” during his Wednesday night speech. We’re all for joy. We’re also for a strong president who has the chops to lead the country.

Voters want to have a reason for joy beyond speeches and promises and declarations of love of country. Joy comes from being able to feed one’s family and pay the rent or mortgage without working two or more jobs. It’s thriving instead of struggling.

How will Harris make that happen?

Former First Lady Michelle Obama went all in on happy in her Tuesday night speech: “Something wonderfully magical is in the air,” she said. Obama spoke of “the contagious power of hope” and “the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day.”

“Hope is making a comeback, Obama said.

A question: where has it been since 2021? Wasn’t Build Back Better supposed to usher in recovery after the pandemic and offer hope for a better, stronger future?

With Harris’s rollercoaster in the up position now, she hasn’t been generous with the details of how she’ll bring joy to America, or what plans she has to get us all to share in that brighter day.

She did offer her Agenda to Lower Costs for American Families. Included are a measure beefing up the child tax credit (CTC) to provide a $6,000 tax cut to families with newborn children, and restoring an expansion to the CTC passed as part of a the American Rescue Plan, pressing up to $3,600 per child tax credit for some families, The Hill reported.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget weighed in and estimated Harris’s proposals to expand the CTC could come with a price tag of $1.2 trillion from fiscal 2026 through 2035.

Harris’s plan would also expand the earned income tax credit (EITC), set up a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit expansion and efforts to support affordable housing. That all could cost upwards of $700 billion during the same time frame, CRFB noted.

Here’s where the hope comes in. Voters should hope that Harris’s free-spending agenda doesn’t spike inflation as Biden’s trillion-dollar binge did. Voters also should hope that the Fed wouldn’t have to respond with more rate increases, pushing up interest rates on credit cards.

We hope that Kamala Harris will do the round of town meetings, interviews and rallies with clear answers about job creation, the economy, government spending, national security and the border crisis.

Voters want answers, and they want to envision a future that’s built on smart planning and solutions, and not just hype.

Or hope.