Harris must bring ‘hope, joy and optimism’ says former Obama speechwriter

We spoke to Terry Szuplat, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama, and author of the upcoming book ‘Say It Well’.

Matt Frei: How different is this moment in terms of the feel in the party, the feel in the country, to the moment when Barack Obama sort of made his debut on the stage here?

Terry Szuplat: Well, I think actually, I’d say there’s actually a lot more in common right now. What we have, I think what we’ve seen over the past month has just been a surge and an energy and optimism and hope around the campaign. And a lot of people have commented that it’s very evocative of Obama’s campaigns.

Matt Frei: And are these pent up feelings of positivity that had been dormant for such a long time, both within the party and within the country?

Terry Szuplat: I hope so. I mean, the American people had expressed a lot of concerns about a race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and we have something different now. So I think what we’re seeing is, again, an energy and an opportunity for Kamala Harris to kind of reshape the race, which is what she’s been doing.

Matt Frei: So when Barack Obama rose to prominence, actually, it was with a speech at the Boston convention where John Kerry was crowned. Where he made that famous speech about there are no red states, no blue states, they’re purple states. It was that appeal, that emotional appeal to unity. But it was about his words. And of course, at the same time he’d written that book, ‘The Audacity of Hope.’ For Kamala Harris, it’s not really about words, is it, because we haven’t heard that many of her words?

Terry Szuplat: I think one of the things that made that speech so powerful was he did something that effective candidates and leaders do, which is you marry your biography to the moment, and you embody your message. And so the message that Kamala Harris is delivering this week about an America that welcomes all people, that has opportunity for all people, her life story embodies that. So I think there’s an opportunity for her to really, I would say, to do her own version of that.

Matt Frei: Okay. So if you were writing her speech, as I’m sure you are in your mind, you know, your fantasy speech for Thursday when she gives it down there, what’s going to be the killer line that will unite America behind her. That will win the election. No pressure, Terry.

Terry Szuplat: One of the things that Barack Obama was always talking to us about was, he knows that speechwriters tend to get consumed by trying to come up with a perfect line. And he wanted us instead to come up with a better story. He said, ‘get the story right and the lines will follow’. And so as a speechwriter, what I’m looking for this week is a powerful story from Kamala Harris. And I think she has one in her life and the more personal she can get, the more stories she can share from her own life to help the American people know her, who she is, who their values are, I think that would be an effective use of this week in her speech.

Matt Frei: The temptation for Democrats and some call it the Trump Derangement Syndrome, is to focus on the negative, on the other side, to focus on Trump. How much would your speech, written for her, focus on Trump, how much would it focus on her?

Terry Szuplat: The vast majority, I would assume, of her speech will focus on her vision, her values. That’s what the American people are looking for. She actually just gave a pretty major speech in North Carolina last week. I think that’s a great template for probably what we’re going to see here. Very clear about what she wants to achieve, what her vision is for the country, and occasionally contrasting her policies with Donald Trump. But ultimately great candidates, great leaders give voters something to vote for. And so I think one of the things you’re seeing already in the past month is sort of the hope and the joy and the optimism. That’s sort of the spirit that I’m seeing here. If she can bring that into her speech. I mean, that’s a winning message.

Matt Frei: It’s interesting isn’t it. We’re far more cynical in the UK, but here there’s a lot of soppy, nostalgic politics…

Terry Szuplat: All that hope.

Matt Frei: All that hope right…

Terry Szuplat: Well it’s the hope that kills you right.

Matt Frei: But at the same time, that nostalgia is very American. That nostalgia for an idea that may have got lost. For the Republic that no longer is. Does that still work in these toxic, divided times, or does it work even better now?

Terry Szuplat: Well, I think the country’s been through a lot in the last ten years. And I think there’s always that and and I hope there always is, because if we do lose hope, then what are we here for? What are we doing? Either you believe in a country that welcomes people from all over the world, that welcomes people of diverse backgrounds, where people have an equal opportunity to succeed or we don’t. I mean, I think that’s a pretty powerful vision. It’s carved in, a version of it’s carved into the Statue of Liberty. And when we lose that, we cease being American. And so I think any candidate who can tap into that in a genuine, authentic way and where their own life story lifts that up, I think that’s a winning candidate.