Harris Went on the Stump Without a Teleprompter...and Disaster Ensued

Matt Vespa reporting for Townhall 

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz climbed aboard for a bus tour through Western Pennsylvania one day before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois (via AP):

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz gave pep talks to campaign volunteers and a high school football team Sunday, with their bus tour in a corner of Pennsylvania serving as a modest, small-town version of the grand rally she’s expected to have at the Democratic nominating convention in Chicago this week. 

Vice President Harris and Walz, the governor of Minnesota, were joined by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, as they toured in a blue bus. They stopped off to visit volunteers at a campaign office not far from Pittsburgh before continuing on to a firehouse and a high school in another town, along with a pilgrimage to a Sheetz convenience store, part of a storied Pennsylvania chain. 

Throughout their stops, Harris and her running mate shied away from policy or much politics, instead sticking to broad-strokes messages focused on character, perseverance and the future of the country. 

There’s a reason why they didn’t talk to the media much. We got to see Harris in the wild, with no teleprompter and left to her devices to connect with voters. It wasn’t pleasant, as she’s back to serving up word salad: 

Our election is about understanding the importance of this beautiful country of ours in terms of what we stand for around the globe as a democracy. As a democracy, we know there's a duality to the nature of democracy. On the one hand, incredible strength when it is intact. What it does for its people to protect and defend their rights, their liberty, and their freedom—incredibly strong. And incredibly fragile. 

She also addressed a local high school football team, offering sage advice such as, “You will be undefeated even if you don't win every game.” If I'm a coach, I'm dying of embarrassment.