民主党人本周在芝加哥召开大会，正式提名副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯和明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹为2024年总统候选人。
这次集会标志着民主党人有机会利用哈里斯周围的良好氛围，哈里斯上个月被提升为该党事实上的被提名人在...之后总统乔·拜登结束了自己的出价。随着哈里斯和瓦尔兹与前总统唐纳德·特朗普和俄亥俄州参议员JD·万斯竞选，预计大会将强调“自由”的信息。
除了突出该党的标志性人物，该活动还可以为批评政府处理加沙战争的抗议者提供一个平台，并提升民主党替补席上的新星。
在今年的民主党全国代表大会上，有五件事值得关注。
这将是一个派对，但会持续多久呢？民主党人兴高采烈，因为哈里斯接替了他们的选择，并迎来了比拜登的数字更高的民调。
这种氛围使大会成为一个政党，就在几周前，民主党人放弃了他们的总统希望，拜登成为他们的提名人。
“如今你在民主党人身上看到的那种纯粹的快乐简直令人难以置信。我的意思是，她和竞选团队以及现在的蒂姆·瓦尔兹(Tim Walz)能够利用唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)和JD Vance政府可能带来的沮丧和恐惧感，这真的很了不起。人们突然出来捐钱。他们突然冒出来做志愿者。这是显而易见的，”前阿拉巴马州民主党参议员道格·琼斯说。
自从拜登退出竞选以来，哈里斯已经享受了近一个月的“蜜月”谄媚的社交媒体赞美。这种推动可能会在本周以及之后的短时间内持续下去，享受传统的大会后上涨。
关于联合中心将举办多大规模的节日的猜测比比皆是，有传言说泰勒·斯威夫特和碧昂斯等大牌演员是否会出现。
然而，在大会之后，问题将是好日子还能持续多久。
哈里斯和特朗普将在他们的9月10日的第一场辩论，在那里的良好表现可以延长哈里斯的蜜月。
但是，尽管民主党人希望这种氛围永远不会改变，但两党的特工都预测哈里斯的竞选活动将回到现实中来——然后，所有的赌注都结束了。
更多的自由，更少的对民主的威胁哈里斯围绕“自由”的信息构建了她的竞选活动，甚至强调了碧昂斯的同名热门歌曲。
这一信息，用哈里斯的话说，是从堕胎选择自由到经济发展自由的一切的保护伞，可能会在芝加哥占据中心舞台——取代拜登关于特朗普对民主威胁的警告
这一战略更具前瞻性，而不是拜登的战斗口号，后者可以追溯到2021年1月6日的起义，民主党人仍然提到这一事件，但似乎没有引起选民对更长期愿景的共鸣。
不过，一些民主党人表示，“自由”的信息可能与拜登对民主的讨论相吻合。
“我认为，当我们看到特朗普是如何践踏民主规范的时候，我们达成了共识，所以民主和自由之间有联系，”一名与哈里斯团队有联系的民主党策略师说。
可以肯定的是，哈里斯并没有逃避拜登。
在接下来的五个月里，她仍将是拜登的得力助手两个一起出现在马里兰州周四兜售通过允许医疗保险对某些药物的价格进行谈判而节省的费用。
拜登将受到英雄般的欢迎拜登将在周一晚上受到一群人的欢迎，这些人迫切希望他继续前进，并非常感谢他这样做。
这总统灾难性的六月辩论表现开始了拜登政治生涯的结束，他将担任一届总统的事实无疑将成为他持久遗产的一部分。
然而，民主党人认为拜登的决定完全是英勇的，哈里斯在竞选活动中一直在赞美他，引发了“谢谢你，乔”的歌声。
这位与哈里斯团队有联系的民主党战略家说:“他的无私行为值得高度赞扬。”“我敢肯定，当他在周一发表演讲时，这将是一场盛大的欢迎会。”
《公约》如何处理加沙战争？虽然拜登的辩论和年龄是结束他政治生涯的主要因素，但他也受到了左翼对他处理加沙战争的批评。那些诽谤者不会因为他不再是民主党的提名人而离开。
对加沙不断上升的死亡人数的抗议将在距离芝加哥联合中心几个街区的地方举行，由各个州的“未承诺”投票派往大会的代表可以完全进入活动现场，没有什么可以阻止他们中断会议。
目前还不清楚大会将在多大程度上涉及这场战争，以及是否会有任何中断。
哈里斯采用了拜登的语调，比总统更强调飞地内不断增加的平民伤亡。但在政策上，迄今为止还没有太大的变化，这引发了她将从那些批评拜登的人那里获得多少观望期的问题。
谁是后起之秀？两党的大会主要是突出领导人的场合，主要是总统候选人。但它们也是提升新星的机会。
也许最著名的是，巴拉克·奥巴马在2004年被选为民主党的主题演讲人，当时他还是伊利诺伊州的州参议员。四年后，他作为民主党总统候选人在大会上发言。
其他发言人包括2012年圣安东尼奥市长朱利安·卡斯特罗和2016年马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦。
民主党人还没有说谁将是今年的主题发言人，但他们的选择可能会表明他们认为谁是未来的政党领袖，以及他们的意识形态方向。
5 things to watch for at the Democratic National Convention
Democrats are kicking off their convention in Chicago this week to formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to top their 2024 presidential ticket.
The gathering marks an opportunity for Democrats to ride the good vibes around Harris, who last month was elevated as the party's de facto nominee after President Joe Biden ended his own bid. The convention is anticipated to be heavy on messages of "freedom" as Harris and Walz run against former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Beyond highlighting the party's marquee figures, the event could also offer a platform for protesters critical of the administration's handling of the war in Gaza and elevate rising stars on the Democratic Party bench.
MORE: Election 2024 updates: ABC News Harris-Trump debate to be held in PhiladelphiaHere are five things to watch for at this year's DNC.
It'll be a party -- but for how much longer?Democrats are euphoric as Harris takes over as their pick and ushers in a polling boost over Biden's numbers.
That vibe sets up the convention as a party, just weeks after Democrats left their presidential hopes for dead with Biden as their nominee.
"The sheer joy that you see in Democrats these days is just incredible. I mean, it is really remarkable the way that she and the campaign and now Tim Walz have been able to capitalize on both the frustration and a sense of dread of a possible Donald Trump-JD Vance administration. Folks are coming out of the woodwork to give money. They're coming out of woodwork to volunteer. It's demonstrable," said former Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones.
Harris has been enjoying a nearly monthlong "honeymoon" since Biden dropped out, riding a wave of flattering social media praise. That boost is likely to continue this week and for a short time afterwards, enjoying a traditional post-convention bump.
Speculation abounds about how big of a festival the United Center will host, with whispers of whether big-name performers such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce will make an appearance.
After the convention, however, the question will be how long the good times can roll.
Harris and Trump will face off at their first debate on Sept. 10, and a good performance there could extend Harris' honeymoon.
But while Democrats hope the vibes never change, operatives in both parties have predicted Harris' campaign will come back down to earth -- and then, all bets are off.
More freedom, less threat to democracyHarris has framed her campaign around a message of "freedom," even down to highlighting Beyonce's hit song of the same name.
That message, an umbrella for, in Harris' words, everything from the freedom to make choices on abortion to freedom to get ahead economically, is likely to take center stage in Chicago -- supplanting Biden's warnings about Trump's threat to democracy.
The strategy is more forward-thinking, rather than Biden's rallying cry, which harkened back to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, an event that Democrats still mention, but appeared to resonate less with voters agitating for a more long-term vision.
Still, the "freedom" messaging could dovetail with Biden's discussions of democracy, some Democrats said.
"I think there was an understanding when we looked at how Trump was really trampling democratic norms, so there's that connection between democracy and freedom," said one Democratic strategist with ties to Harris' team.
To be certain, Harris isn't running away from Biden.
She'll still be Biden's right hand for five more months, and the two appeared together in Maryland on Thursday to tout savings made by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain medications.
Biden heads for a hero's welcomeBiden is set to be feted Monday night by a base that desperately wanted him to move on and is intensely grateful he did so.
The president's catastrophic June debate performance started the clock on the end of Biden's political career, and the fact that he'll be a one-term president will no doubt be a part of his enduring legacy.
However, Democrats have cast Biden's decision as nothing short of heroic, and Harris has been singing his praises on the campaign trail, sparking chants of "thank you, Joe."
"He deserves tremendous credit for such a selfless act," said the Democratic strategist with ties to Harris' team. "I'm sure when he speaks on Monday, it's going to be a huge reception."
How does the convention handle the war in Gaza?While Biden's debate and age were the chief factors in ending his political career, he was also dogged by criticism from the left over his handling of the war in Gaza. And those detractors aren't going away just because he's no longer Democrats' nominee.
Protests over the rising death toll in Gaza will be held blocks away from Chicago's United Center, and delegates who were sent to the convention by "uncommitted" votes in various states have full access to the event floor, with nothing to stop them from interrupting the proceedings.
It's unclear precisely how much the convention will deal with the war and if there will be any interruptions at all.
Harris has adopted a tonal shift from Biden, putting more of an emphasis on mounting civilian casualties in the enclave than the president had. But on policy, there hasn't been as much of a change so far, raising questions over how much of a wait-and-see period she'll receive from those who were critical of Biden.
Who are the rising stars?Conventions for both parties are primarily occasions to highlight leaders, chiefly the presidential nominees. But they also serve as opportunities to elevate rising stars.
Perhaps most famously, Barack Obama was selected as Democrats' keynote speaker in 2004 when he was still a state senator in Illinois. Four years later, he spoke at the convention as his party's presidential nominee.
Other speakers have included Julián Castro when he was mayor of San Antonio in 2012 and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2016.
Democrats have not said who this year's keynote speaker will be -- but their pick could indicate who they view as a future party leader and in what ideological direction they're heading.
