Kamala Harris swung for the fences with a speech fit for Obama, and hit a home run in the fourth evening of the Democratic National Convention. Even conservatives like myself must admit it and give her writers and her speech coach their due. While not as naturally gifted as BHO in the delivery department she does read a teleprompter well.

But the question is: did she move the needle enough with swing state voters and in her key demographics of women, the first-time voter, left-leaning independents and all the disillusioned stay-at-home would-be voters? If all of them were mobilize-able by one speech, then this one probably could qualify as the one. But that's somewhat less certain.

Democrats love being in love with their candidates, and Kamala Devi Harris (KDH) let them get to first base with her last night. "It's all about the future," she said, placing herself and her youth appeal directly up against Trump's age and preference for returning America to past greatness. Smart move. Always great to talk about the future when your past is either sketchy or worse.

Her speech was evenly split between three separate but sometimes connected elements. There was her biographical story highlighting her mother (and not her Marxist father) and omitting those chapters about living in Canada's richest neighborhood and loving Willie Brown. There was her wish list for America. And significantly, there was her denigration and fear-mongering of Donald Trump.

Though predictable as far as speeches go, like an Olympic runner on her way to the lighting ceremony, she bore the torch of hope passed to her the night before by two other Casanovas of voters, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Then she interwove hope into a tough love scene in which she cast herself as the resolute commander-in-chief, international diplomat/peacemaker and savior of the middle-class and of women in search of an abortion.

Save for one spontaneous cackle she managed to contain her grating laugh, not wanting to spoil the mood she had created of America's new matchmaker that would heal the ideological wounds of the country.

Not worried about fact-checkers, she proceeded to tear down the edifice of Donald Trump like the renegades she supported who toppled the statues of American heroes back in the 2020 'summer of love.'

Trump was dangerous. He wasn't serious. His only client was himself and not the American people. He told his supporters to be violent in the Capitol on Jan. 6. He would give new tax breaks to billionaires instead of the middle class. He was a convicted felon. Et cetera, et cetera.

She channeled Kojak. Who loves you, baby? I do. The crowd swooned. Then she stood up straight and took a deep breath while she went through her speechwriters' laundry list of must-mentions: the economy, the border, NATO, Social Security and Medicare, Obamacare, honoring the military, support for Israel and for the sovereignty of the Palestinian people and, of course, the Dems' big issue, abortion.

The hook was set. All that was left was to defog the car windows, smile coyly and promise the crowd another look under the hood later. One half-expected to hear the Beatles song "All You Need Is Love" emanate from the United Center's speakers in Chicago.

Love was definitely on the ballot and the dopamine rush was everywhere. So was the promise of hope – hope that the Democrats' love affair would infect the other half of the country that refused to act like lovesick teenagers and who preferred an adult to lead them. Kamala did her job. Now it's up to America to fall in love, fall in line or wake up and realize that while there's no statute of limitations on love, hope does not come with a money-back guarantee.

Stephen Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat who lived and worked in 30 countries for 25 years during the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush Administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of which are on American politics and has written over 1,400 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He can be reached at: stephenhelgesen@gmail.com

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