Between the two extremes, Harris appeared to have achieved what she wanted from Thursday's groundbreaking CNN interview, given with her running mate, Tim Walz.
Under fierce scrutiny after nearly six weeks without any interviews, she earned lavish praise from the Democratic base while denying Republicans a clear line of attack simply by avoiding major missteps of the type that undid Joe Biden's candidacy in June's climactic debate.
A commentator with AZCentral. com - a news site in the swing state of Arizona - called the performance "too sane to be great TV", an implicit comparison with Trump's frequently ostentatious media appearances.
Commenting on her championing of Biden's record, the New York Times noted that "it turns out, Ms Harris is a better salesperson for Mr Biden's accomplishments and defender of his record than he ever was".
But the highest praise came from Harris's party supporters. Bill Burton, a former deputy press secretary in Barack Obama's presidency, posted on X: "This interview with Dana Bash is a moment to recognise that it is absolutely under-appreciated that Vice-President Harris is running a perfect campaign.
This story is from the August 31, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the August 31, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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