Only a dozen days earlier, The New York Times ran a thoughtful, hard-hitting, honest, 100 % even-handed article on Kamala Harris:’ Joy’ Is Working for Harris, but Is It Close the Deal? ( That was a follow-up to its previous hard-hitting part: Harris Used to Worry About Laughing. Now Joy Is Fueling Her Campaign. )  ,
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A few days previously, another page exclaimed: Kamala Harris is showing that happiness can be a plan. And just a little bit before that, New York Magazine announced Kamala Harris and the New Politics of Joy as the start of a brand-new, interesting era in American elections.
Happy-happy, joy-joy!
Of program, a few days is a career in politics. A lot is shift.
The Harris-Walz stories have been considerably squandered of their unquenchable joy over the past week or so. As Election Day draws nearer, Harris ‘ plan features less speak of happiness and more head-on pushes at Trump, according to the Associated Press. Kamala Harris has gone from a pleasant hero to a gloomy one, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, her home report, yesterday.
However, Donald Trump is clowning round in a McDonald’s drive-thru, having an absolute blast.
Hey! Where did all of Kamala’s happiness come?
The McDonald’s company is associated with happiness. With all due respect to that orange-beige goop it slathers on those Great Macs, the REAL” key soup” is how they’ve built their product.
Think about the phrases:” You deserve a tear now”! ” The fine day, excellent taste of McDonald’s”! ” McDonald’s and you”. ” We love to view you laugh”! And, of sure,” Ba da ba ba ba: I’m lovin’ it”!
It’s all about parental happiness.
Side note: The “real-life” Ronald McDonald lives in Tampa Bay. He’s the brother of Richard and Maurice McDonald, the two boys who invented the McDonald’s restaurant. ( Years ago, Ronald and I partnered together on a book project that did n’t go anywhere. ) Regardless, Ronald and Richard collaborated carefully to establish the McDonald’s franchise and explained how they would track the traffic flow for new tennis courts.  ,
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After Ray Kroc took over, Ronald partnered with Dave Thomas to produce Wendy’s companies in the south. Fascinating man. He even claims that the real history of how McDonald’s fell into the hands of Kroc is unknown to the public and not all is as it seems: There was Kroc, organized crime, supply lines disrupted, murder, and lots of unpleasant moving parts. One time, I really, REALLY wish he gives me permission to tell his story.
Donald Trump is currently the recipient of ALL the intergenerational goodwill McDonald’s has accumulated over the years. ( Donald and McDonald rhythmically flow together, do n’t they? ) Even if you were a left-leaning moderate and anti-MAGA, you probably could n’t help but smile when you saw Donald Trump salting the French fries. It was amusing.
Politics is hard labor. Your feelings get frazzled, you say terrible things. I think it was Morton Blackwell who first coined this phrase, but alas, I ca n’t find it online to confirm authorship. But I think it’s accurate:” The time a prospect runs for company, their IQ drops 30 items”. ( And let’s be honest, most candidates do n’t have too many IQ points to spare. )
When we’re under stress, our decision-making approach deteriorates.
If you’re a high-level Harris-Walz plan employee now, you’re drinking data from a functions. It’s just too much to digest, which tends to aggravate a sense of confusion, anger, and anxiety.
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But when you’re losing, you generally know it. And losing is completely unfavorable.
In the final weeks of the 2024 election, Donald Trump is hamming it up over burger, having the time of his life. ( And I’m 99 % sure he stole some of those French fries. ) This is n’t” Black Trump” at all. Yet in previous promotions, he’s never been this enthusiastic — or this Reaganesque.
However, Kamala’s employees are emailing each other the latest elections. We may disagree with them socially, but not all of them are terrible people: They can examine the writing on the wall.  ,
It’s certainly going well. In reality, it’s going quite seriously.
And there’s no delight in losing.