Kamala Harris introduces “Coach” Tim Walz, her trusty running-mate

ALMOST EVERYTHINGDJ about the scene in a packed 10,000-seat basketball arena in Philadelphia on the evening of August 6th would have been unimaginable just six weeks ago. First, there was the sheer size and Swiftie-like zeal of a Democratic crowd waving their glow-in-the-dark wristbands, dancing to a ’s tunes and fired by belief that their ticket might actually win the White House in November. Then there were the star attractions on stage: Kamala Harris, formally ratified as the party’s presidential nominee in an online delegate vote overnight, just over two weeks after Joe Biden’s decision to step aside. With her stood , Ms Harris’s newly announced vice-presidential running-mate. Not since 1968 has one of America’s two major parties switched out a presidential nominee so late in a campaign. On current , they might consider doing so more often.