Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage in Chicago on Thursday night to accept her party's nomination for president. She spoke about her childhood, her parents, and her identity, leaning into memories her family, and touching on cultural cues like Miles Davis, John Coltraine, and Aretha Franklin.

She worked to paint herself as coming from a working-class upbringing, though both of her parents were academics, and her mother later went on to become a professor at Montreal's prestigious McGill University. This personification has been key to Harris' relaunch as a presidential candidate.

Harris' tone throughout her speech, however, was that of a candidate who is looking for a chance to lead. But the fact is she has been in a leadership position for years. She's been the vice president of the United States for nearly four years, and she hasn't delivered on any of these promises that she's now making. Harris vowed to embark upon a "new way forward" into some unrealized future without any explanation as to why she hasn't embarked on this journey already, from the White House, where she has an office.

While the attendees at the DNC got a chance to hear from the candidate and get an idea of her background, the tidbits that one day could land in her memoirs, the memories of a friend who was being sexually abused at home and bringing that friend home to her family's apartment in the East Bay. "A harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us," she said.

This view of collectivity was a big part of her remarks. And she accepted the nomination of her party on behalf of pretty much everyone. Harris did not actually receive any votes, did not run in her party's primaries across the US, but was installed by party elites to replace aging statesman Joe Biden, who revealed in a debate against Trump in June that he was clearly not up to the task.

"I promise to be a president to all Americans," she said. "You can always trust me to put the country above all the country above the party and itself, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power." This, of course, was a dig at her opponent who Democrats believe, as part of their party doctrine, would not allow a peaceful transfer.

Harris spoke about her record as a prosecutor in San Francisco, her record as California's Attorney General, but not as senator or in her current role as the sitting vice president of the United States. When she was done with her record from decades past, she laid into her opponent, detailing falsehoods and debunked hoaxes.

"In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man," Harris said, before claiming that he would create chaos in a second term, though he did not in his first term.
 

"We are charting a new way forward, forward to a future to a strong and growing middle class, because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America's success, and building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency," she said.

The biggest applause from the crowd was for abortion access. Though she lied outright about Trump's position on it, the audience ate it up. This is a convention that was proud of giving out free abortions in a van only steps from the political festivities.

On Ukraine, she said she warned President Volodymyr Zelensky about Russia's impending invasion, and that the US would back Ukraine for the duration. On the war in Israel, she said it was time for a ceasefire, though she backed Israel, meaning essentially that she would extend the policy of her current administration. Harris also called for "self-determination" for the people of Gaza, something they have had since 2005 when Israel left the region. Protesters gathered outside, upset that a Palestinian activist had not been given a mainstage speaking opportunity.

"You know, our opponents in this race are out there every day, denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is," Harris said, before intoning her mother again. "Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach, never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. Let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for, freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities. 

"We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world and on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth, the privilege and pride of being an American. So, let's get out there. Let's fight for it. Let's get out there. Let's vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told," she said.