A lifetime ago in American politics which is to say a couple months ago on your calendar, I had the good fortune to attend a dinner party at the home of a senior member of the Biden Administration. When the topic turned to the 2024—which was pretty much the minute we walked in the front door because, well, Washington—there were deep concerns about the outcomes. Fearing the election of Donald Trump and the end of American democracy will do that to you.
Our host framed the election as being between two men and a couch. The point they were making was that voters who simply chose not to vote, who decided to stay home on the couch, would very like decide the November election.
How far we have come since those days. Democrats have been energized by the emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as their standard bearer. And the selection of J.D. Vance as the Vice Presidential nominee has given the expression “having a date with the couch” a whole new meaning.
