Rama Krishna Sangem
Time, 101 year old New York based news weekly magazine cover paged American vice-president Kamala Harris on its August 26 issue. “Her Moment,” is the headline the magazine gave to its cover. Usually centrist political views oriented Time has given Kamala enough space and scope to emerge as the probable presidential candidate in November 5 elections.
Time with around 13 lakh copies of circulation – that include 79,000 stands sales and 2.5 lakh digital subscriptions, is one of the influential media in the US. Currently it is owned by Marc Benioff, who founded Salesforce. Till recently, the mag was of the opinion that former president Donald Trump’s re-election, with a gap of four years, over Biden, sitting president, a foregone conclusion.
But, ever since Harris descended on the stage, in place of Biden, Time, like all media in the US, is thrilled to predict a nail baiting electoral race. Though Time hasn’t said it loudly, the story it carried in this issue is almost adulatory of her. Time said, Kamala Harris has inspired Democrats like never before in recent years. Only Barack Obama had got this much of support from Dems during a presidential election.
Kamala inspired people
In a story, titled Second Chance, Charlotte Alter said: “The soundtrack suggested a Beyonce Concert. The light- up bracelets evoked the Eras Tour. And the exuberant crowd – more 14,000 strong lining up in the rain – resembles of early days of Barack Obama”. Alter was describing a Democrats rally in Philadelphia on August 6. The three page story is nothing short of how Harris has inspired many new people in the US.
That the story was field much before the Democrats national convention in Chicago on August 19-22 shows that Time is well convinced of a possible wave in American elections. Till now a dull, docile and drowsy poll scenario – where two old men vied with each other, suddenly changed into a mass celebration with the entry of Harris. As of now, she leads most polls by 102 percentage points over Trump.
“Whether Harris can sustain her early success is an open question. What’s clear is that she has changed the trajectory of the election. “The whole vibe just shifted. We were looking at two candidates nobody was that excited about,” explains Leanne Weiner 39, who wore a childless cat ladies for Harris T shirt. Now there is a new energy, a new force, an ability to pull in people who might be unsure, says the story.
Isn’t it enough to say who is leading the campaign as of now?
