David Axelrod

She was in positive territory. That could end up being the story of this race.

Every time he goes out there, he doesn't deliver a distilled focused message. He goes off on some crazy jag that's all about himself and his own grievances.

Yes, I've been talking about this for some time. Look, she has made extraordinary progress. We were all in Milwaukee a month ago and, you know, there was euphoria there and a sense that this race was over, that they were going to win by a…

The president made a very tough decision and it was the right decision, and the result is we now have a very competitive race for president.

It would certainly serve their purposes right at the moment that he's in the race.

Kamala Harris has become the turn the page candidate.

Donald Trump's never exceeded 47 percent of the vote and there's no indication that he would do that here.

I think for the first time in this race, I always believed the third parties were a detriment to Biden.

This is going to be a close race. This is going to be a battle.

I don't know what polls Donald Trump has been looking at. I could guess.

I think it's going to be a huge issue in this election.

I don't know that people in small town or big town America think paid family leave is communism. I don't know that they think that school lunches or communism, paid -- you know, free school lunches are communism.

If I were the strategist for the other side, I would not want this to be a future past debate.

Suddenly, Donald Trump feels like the embattled incumbent. I mean, that's the way he's behaving.

So time doesn't necessarily guarantee that you're going to make the right decision.

Josh Shapiro, a little more edgy, dynamic in some ways. But he's the governor of a state that has 19 electoral votes.

Tim Walz would be the safe driver award choice. He has no sharp edges. He's well liked in the party.

And that is something to celebrate. You know, George Washington did the same thing. He left. People wanted him to run, but he knew it was time.

What he is doing tonight is a completely unnatural act in our politics. He's at the pinnacle of power and he's walking away from it.

You remind me, Erin, there was a Republican convention last week, and I remember it. So it's been a long time, but I remember Trump talking about unity.

The thing that's important is, do we defeat Donald Trump? That is what is important and what gives you the best chance to defeat Donald Trump.

You want to play to the people you're trying to persuade.

If they joined in the calls to unify and he offers himself as a strong leader to do that, now there'll be a lot of skepticism about that among those who don't like him.

And that is the hardest thing to brittle because, again, we have this social media culture where you get, you know, you get clicks and followers for being angry and outraged.

He was trying to fill the role that presidents should in a moment like this. This country is in distress and he wanted to speak to that distress and I think he did a good job of that tonight.