She slayed.

Kamala did everything she needed to do last night, backwards and in heels.

Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.

And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault. (From America Ferrera’s speech in the Barbie movie).

Before last night’s debate, I was talking to 16 about how I thought it was going to be impossible for Kamala to win the debate. She had to know everything, but not be a know-it-all, she had to smile, but not too much. She was supposed to laugh, but not too loud. She had to call out his lies, but not be shrill. She had to talk about policy, but not get into the weeds. She had to avoid a voice that people just don’t like, but can’t quite put their finger on. She had to do it all in stilettos.

And Trump, well, he had to appear human and not throw feces.

So, as I set up to watch…two screens so I could comment and watch at the same time, I was filled with trepidation.

And then.

She slayed. She ate. She cooked. (you’ll have to ask the kids what the last two phrases mean).

She stalked him on the stage and forced him to shake her hand like a BOSS. And she called out his lies and his racism. But not only that, she told us why he does it—to divide us. She said that no matter where we live or what language our grandmother speaks, we have more in common than what divides us. You have to be a super-engaged activist (as many of you are) to understand her magically delicious use of the race/class narrative that

Anat Shenker

Osorio and her entire crew have been discussing for years.

She commented on his crowd sizes. She called him weak. She called him a disgrace. He admitted that after 9 years of campaigning he still had no health care plan. And she dangled bait that he took Every. Single. Time. As I watched in awe as she ate his lunch, 16 came and watched with me.

Yet what I’ve just said simplifies what Kamala Harris actually did. She showed the nation that she would not be bullied. She showed the international community that she would be a leader worth following. She showed our allies they could depend on her to have their backs. She showed that she has an outstanding staff that understands electoral politics and how to engage 800k Polish-Americans in Pennsylvania. She did it all with an expressive face that did half her work for her, turning directly to Donald and telling him he was weak, he was unpopular, and he was a disgrace.

We learned that she can prepare and meet any moment. We learned that she can handle any dictator worldwide and handle tough decisions. We learned that she has command of her policies, her facts, and she knows what a GD tariff is. And we learned that she’s not afraid to show it. She makes Americans the protagonists in her campaign, and she showed amazing willpower when she managed not to call Trump “That Motherfucker.” And if it wasn’t restraint, and was stagecraft, it was exquisite.

AND to top it all off, Taylor Swift endorsed her half an hour after it was over. A GSA spokesperson told NPR that as of 11:00 this morning 306k visitors had visited vote.gov, referred from Swift’s instagram. Cory Booker tweeted this video today.

So, friends. That’s one obstacle down and a million more to go. It probably didn’t change the fundamentals of the race, which will be exceptionally close because of the way our system was designed 250 years ago (as I discussed with

Michael Podhorzer

, which you’ll hear when my conversation with him drops later this week).

So, we can’t let up. We can’t slow down. We can do anything for 50-some more days. Let’s Freaking Go!