PHILADELPHIA – Beneath big Harris-Walz signs, in front of an enthusiastic capacity crowd in this, the home of the Liberty Bell, Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, appeared onstage here this evening for the first time with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and made the case for freedom.

Harris surprised political insiders on Tuesday by choosing Walz, a former football coach and history teacher, who appeared to come from out of the pack to displace the frontrunner, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in the Veep sweepstakes.

“It’s good to be here with all the leaders who are here,” said Harris. Former Governor Ed Rendell. U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey. In addition, “It is so good to be here with your incredible governor, Josh Shapiro. A dear, dear friend.”

More on that in a moment.

Harris lingered on her campaign theme moments before beckoning her running mate to the mic. “Freedom to vote,” the vice president said. “The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to love who you love, openly and with pride. The freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body.” The auditorium shook with applause.

Said Walz, by way of introduction, “I was born in West Point, Nebraska and lived in Butte, a small town of 400 where community was a way of life.  Growing up, I spent summers working on the family farm. My mom and dad taught us to show generosity toward your neighbors and to work for the common good. Minnesota’s strength comes from our values – our commitment to working together, to seeing past our differences, to lending a helping hand. These same values I learned on the family farm and tried to instill in my students, I took to Congress and the state capital, and now, Vice President Harris and I are running to take them to the White House!”

The Minnesota Governor came right out of the gate chatting up what he cited as Harris’ strengths for the presidency. “I couldn’t be prouder to be on this ticket, and to help make Kamala Harris the next President of the United States,” Walz said. “From her first day as a prosecutor… as District Attorney… as Attorney General of California… as a U.S. Senator … and as Vice President, Vice President Harris has fought on the side of the American people. She took on predators and fraudsters, took down transnational gangs, stood up against powerful corporate interests, she’s never hesitated to reach across the aisle if it meant improving people’s lives. And – she brings joy to everything she does.”

The buildup to the main event included remarks by veteran U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), running for reelection in this battleground, who emphasized his commitment to working people, and Jamie Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee. “He didn’t vote in Pennsylvania for fifteen years,” Casey said of Republican opponent David McCormick. “Here’s a radical idea. I think you should know the people you seek to represent.”

“It is great to be here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Harrison. “Folks, VP Harris and Governor Walz represent the future of the party and our nation.” He brought down the house when he added, “My friends, this ticket is set.” The chairman proceeded to talk up the Minnesota governor. “His life is marked by public service. He was a social studies teacher.

“Like me,” Harrison beamed to cheers.

In this critical battleground state, which Joe Biden won by one-point in 2020, Philadelphia this evening warmly received Harris and her running mate on the first day of a tour that will take the pair around the rust belt a little over a week before the scheduled Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Pennsylvania is critical for the ticket as Harris-Walz aim to stop the Trump-Vance GOP tandem on Nov. 5th. From Newsweek: “The vice president’s success on the campaign trail seems to have made an impact on potential voters since her national polling average went up by 4.4 points in the past month. Harris is currently beating Trump 45 to 43.9 percent in the national polls, according to the Silver Bulletin presidential model.

Democrats rallying around Harris-Walz projected the opposite kind of energy they had a few weeks ago when President Joe Biden melted down on a debate stage and left his supporters anxious for a swap-in to take the place of the octogenarian. Harris immediately secured sufficient support toward the nomination in the aftermath of Biden’s announcement last month that he would not pursue reelection.

In the lead-up to this evening’s event, a marching band on the street sought entry to the Liacouras Center at Temple University, prompting a searching look from Secret Service. Inside, a Santa Claus lookalike stood in the crowd. Bedecked in red, white, and blue bunting, American Flags, and Harris-Walz signs, the interior of the sporting complex radiated positive energy. The Minnesota governor appeared to give another jolt to Harris. “Right now, Minnesota is showing the country you don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Walz said last year. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”

The Harris Campaign this morning announced the VP’s choice of Walz as her running mate. “Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let’s do this together. Would you be my running mate and let’s get this thing on the road?” Harris asks in the video posted on X.

“I would be honored, Madam Vice President. The joy that you’re bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that’s out there, it’ll be a privilege to take this with you across the country,” Walz replied.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker walked out onstage after Jaime Harrison and helped pump up the crowd. “History,” she said, to cheers from these supporters worried about the implications of a Trump Supreme Court impairing women’s reproductive freedoms, and intent on catapulting Harris to become the country’s woman president.

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) turned heads when reports surfaced over the weekend that he had advised the Harris Campaign to bypass Governor Shapiro as an option.  Tonight, the western Pennsylvanian received boos – but not because he didn’t want to see Shapiro on the national ticket.  “I’m a Steelers guy,” Fetterman confessed to this Philadelphia Eagles-loving crowd.  The boos turned to cheers, however, when he added, “But today we are all Team Harris-Walz.”

Including Shapiro. “I love being your governor,” he said. It was a moment, Shapiro’s somewhat bittersweet moment, one tinged with projected goodwill, and received by an appreciative crowd. “I want you to know, every single day, I go to work for you. I focus on three simple letters. I focus on getting shit done.” Then he went for the kill. “I’m going to be working my tail off to make sure…” The crowd drowned out the rest of the remark. “Kamala Harris has understood that you have to be every day for the people,” the governor added.  Later, he said, “Tim Walz is a great man. …Tim Walz is a dear friend.”

Not everyone was thrilled, though.

Curtis Bashaw, New Jersey Republican candidate for United States Senate, released the following statement regarding Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Governor Walz: “With the addition of Tim Walz, the top of ticket is the most far-left New Jersey’s ever seen. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Andy Kim support defunding the police and open borders, are weak on Israel and foreign policy, and have forced higher taxes and inflation on American families. This radical trio isn’t the change New Jersey needs and would only worsen the chaos our country is currently experiencing with our economy, at the border, and overseas.”

But the biggest ovation of the evening in the auditorium at Temple leading up to that deafening moment when Harris and Walz appeared publicly together for the first time went to home state favorite Shapiro, when he said, “It’s not freedom to tell women what they’re going to with their bodies. …Freedom’s on the ballot. And our fundamental freedoms are at risk.”