
<p>Harris’ concession speech was one of her best. ; It was pitch perfect – largely because it was traditional boilerplate. ; It was classy because it was positive and upbeat. ; It was boilerplate because it was in the tradition of thousands of other classy concession speeches.</p>



<p>She mentioned her congratulatory call to President Trump. ; She thanked her supporters and voters. ;</p>



<p>Harris expressed her understanding of the sadness and disappointment her team was feeling – but she called on them to reject anger and bitterness. She viewed the loss as a setback but not a defeat – and called on her people to carry on the fight. She noted that in the darkest of times, you see the stars at their greatest brilliance – and called on her people to be those billions of stars. It was a great analogy.</p>



<p>Harris pledged to work cooperatively in the transition and to work with the new administration when possible.</p>



<p>Harris, herself, did not display a sullen or angry demeanor. She was the happy warrior. She did not revisit the strident tones of the campaign, the demonization of her opponent, or the fear mongering statements about the future of democracy. She did not question the outcome.</p>



<p>For sure, here speech was framed by pragmatism and reality. ; The will of the people was decisive – leaving no opportunities for recounts and legal challenges of the types that occurred in 2020 by Trump and in 2000 by Vice President Al Gore.</p>



<p>The fact that Harris’ speech was a classic version of a classy concession speech – boilerplate, as it were &#8212; does not diminish the fact that she gave it with apparent sincerity. ;  ;She gave personality to what could have been perfunctory boilerplate. ; She could have taken a much darker and divisive approach. ; It is to her credit that she did not.  ;One cannot imagine a better concession speech. ; She is to be complimented for exiting the 2024 campaign with style and grace.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Harris concedes with a classy speech
