You will feel Harris’ momentum fizzle the moment she announces Shapiro as her VP pick; iambic pentameter in Olympics tennis; jazz in Volunteer Park.
I’m All Lost in…
the 3 things I’m obsessing about THIS week
#42
1) Who could have imagined this two weeks ago. The Democrats’ presidential campaign energy is hitting Obama levels. I’m sure you’ve seen the electric clips from the “Say-it-to-My-Face,” 10,000-strong rally in Atlanta and the encouraging swing toward Harris in swing states
But have you seen this? Republican mayors in Arizona are endorsing her. And you must see the hilarious Kamala Harris impersonator who has turned the laugh into a bonus. Ha. Everything seems to be going our way. (To paraphrase my friend Charles: Is that all Trump has? “She’s not black?”)
So, how will Harris—like Democrats always do—shut down her own party’s sudden momentum? By picking Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be her running mate.
I’ve been worried about this all week, and now I’m downright despondent. My anxiety level went off the charts Tuesday night when she announced that her first campaign stop with her soon-to-be running mate will be in Philadelphia.
A Shapiro announcement will land with a thud.
This isn’t a fear about antisemitism on the right, though there’s that too!; this is about antisemitism on the left.
Here’s what I wrote on Facebook on Saturday night:
Harris better not pick Shapiro. Sadly, innate antisemitism is omnipresent today on the left and among youth. The split second Harris announces a Shapiro pick, there will be a palpable drop in enthusiasm on the Democratic side.
Unfortunately, late Baby Boomers and early Xers like Harris still live in the second half of the 20th Century when Jews were viewed by lefties (condescendingly in my experience, but so be it) as compelling, cool underdogs. I don't think Harris, Obama, Pelosi and the Democratic establishment understand how that has shifted and how antisemitism has become a gut impulse among the younger generation.
It pains me to say all this, but if Harris picks Shapiro, it will chill the current love fest on the Democratic side. (Is this a case of internalized antisemitism on my part? Perhaps.)
And if you think Shapiro gets us PA, I counter with this: He loses us Michigan by diminishing Democratic turnout there.
P.s. You might ask, well then why are you a Democrat, Josh? Answer: Because Donald Trump and his MAGA movement are obviously neo-Nazis who traffic in updated versions of conspiracy theories from the infamous, antisemitic Protocols of Zion.
After Harris picks Shapiro, cue the inevitable stories about how he’s not going over well with the base. Hmmm. (And P.s. Yes, I know being critical of Israel isn’t the same as being antisemitic, but please believe me when I tell you I can smell it when they overlap. Additionally, when I refer to antisemitism on the left, I’m not only talking about Israel.)
Harris is obviously picking Shapiro not only with must-win Pennsylvania in mind, but to woo centrists and conservatives nationally. Unfortunately, by enervating the Democratic surge with a Shapiro pick, Harris will have pulled off a classic case of cutting your nose to spite your face.
Oh, and then watch for stories about how the pick is making Jews anxious. Whichever NYT reporter gets that assignment should please call me for a quote.
2) Thank god there is women’s tennis at the Olympics to take my mind off the pending Shapiro fiasco.
Watching the Olympics women’s tennis quarterfinals, 7/31/24
I subscribed to Peacock so I could watch. I’m rooting for World No. 7, China’s Qinwen Zheng; my actual favorite player, Aryna Sabalenka, opted out of the Olympics (she’s playing in D.C.’s annual summer tournament after recovering from a shoulder injury.)
I signed up for Peacock a little late, though, so I missed a lot of key early matches—like the apparently toxic three-hour Round of 16 match between Zheng and Emma Navarro (15, USA). There was also the (not without its own controversy) Round of 16 match between Coco Gauff (2, USA) and Donna Vekic (21, Croatia). Vekic won as Gauff struggles with Peter Parker syndrome these days.
I did subscribe in time to wake up early on Wednesday morning and watch the Zheng vs Germany’s Angelique Kerber (former No. 1, but. now 212) quarterfinal nail biter . Zheng came from behind to win a three-hour tibreaker over the veteran star, 6-7[4], 6-4, 7-6[6]
And later in the day, I watched the surprisingly tight (momentarily anyway) Iga Swiatek (1, Poland) vs Danielle Collins (9, USA) quarterfinal match. Swiatek, who’s impossible to beat at Roland Garros, eventually won. (My plan is to wake up at 3 am on Thursday and watch the Zheng vs Swiatek semifinal as the Olympic medal rounds begin.) I also watched the finale-of-forehands match: a tiebreaker showdown between Vekic and Marta Kostyuk (19, Ukraine). I’m liking Vekic these days after her impressive run at Wimbledon, where she made it to the semifinals before losing an epic to then No. 7 Jasmine Paolini (Italy). It was hard not to root for Ukrainian Kostyuk at the Olympics, but Vekic eventually beat her 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 [8].
In addition to all the excellent matches, I do love the quietly earnest TV announcers who speak in refined British accents. And in perfect iambic pentameter:
“A game of chess at times this one has been.”
The non-stop tennis is also inspiring me on the court.
With Qinwen Zheng’s swift ground strokes in mind, I fared better than usual against my Olympics opponent Tom when we squared off Saturday morning on Lower Court 3 at Volunteer Park.
I eventually lost 4-6 in the first set (more games than I’ve ever won against him) and not until after forcing a standstill at deuce for several points, nearly sending the set to a tiebreaker. He killed me in the next set, though, 6-0.
3) Speaking of Volunteer Park: One of my favorite local jazz artists, pianist Marina Albero, lit it up there Thursday night as part of this summer’s music-in-the-park series. Volunteer Park, Capitol Hill’s respectable family park, as opposed to groovy Cal Anderson Park, is in my bourgeois part of Capitol Hill.
Albero plays classic art jazz with a blues and Latin music bent. You can hear her skilled mix of academic chords and Spanish lines on her 2021 release “A Life Soundtrack.”
Jazz pianist Marina Albero, 7/25/24
Albero is one of the few Seattle musicians I named and wrote about in The Night of Electric Bikes.
From my poem: "In the Course of Life's Events" :
Instead of saying piano, I will say rain. As in: the weather forecast didn't/call for rain inside her body and pouring out her fingers. But that's what/happened.
After Thursday evening’s show, I slipped around the back of the band shell with a copy of my book in hand, showed her the poem, and handed it off. She seemed genuinely delighted and even asked me to sign it.
I WROTE ALL THAT WEDNESDAY NIGHT (7/31/24); HERE’S A THURSDAY MORNING (8/1/24) UPDATE:
Whoa, Zheng beat Swiatek. https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4073042/zheng-shocks-no-1-swiatek-to-reach-olympic-gold-medal-final .
And, the articles about the anti-Shapiro push back have officially begun.