Brittany S. Hale: 0:32

Hey Brittany, Hi Karen, how are you? I'm doing okay. How about you? I'm doing well. Mina's joining us again. Hi, Mina, she's like I'm ready for a nap.

Karen McFarlane: 0:44

Ready for a nap? Yeah, ready for a sleep.

Brittany S. Hale: 0:47

Okay, it's a hard life, you know, being the dog of a single childless dog mom. But here we are.

Karen McFarlane: 1:01

It's good life. Wow, exciting times are upon us.

Brittany S. Hale: 1:09

Exciting times. This is the last pod we're going to do before we elect a new president of the United States. Did you vote already?

Karen McFarlane: 1:19

I did on Saturday, no Friday night, Friday evening I did. I did my early vote. It took me like five minutes Really Well, because you know I broke my foot right, so I got.

Brittany S. Hale: 1:31

Ah right.

Karen McFarlane: 1:33

Okay, I was going to say I was like wow the line, but yes, I got a little hashtag going on, which I greatly appreciated, so it took me longer to walk in the building than it did to vote, which was awesome. They were great.

Brittany S. Hale: 1:49

That is awesome.

Karen McFarlane: 1:52

And also in New York. What was interesting? Well, I, I didn't. I guess I didn't pay that much attention, so that's bad. But anyway, on the back you flip it over and you're voting yes for equal protections, um, for doing so to be added to the state constitution.

Brittany S. Hale: 2:12

So if you you're in New York and you still haven't voted, make sure you flip over your ballot yes, always make sure you read your ballot, the sample ballots that come in the mail, don't just chuck them in the trash.

Karen McFarlane: 2:25

I don't get sample ballots.

Brittany S. Hale: 2:27

Really. Oh, maybe they don't do that in New York.

Karen McFarlane: 2:30

I don't know, I don't get one, I just show up and do what you need to do.

Karen McFarlane: 2:40

But no, this is really exciting. I mean the energy that's around. Well, our viewers, our listeners should know, and viewers should know, that we are, uh, vice president Kamala Harris supporters, and so the energy that is around her is really quite palpable. And, you know, it just means so much to me, from, you know, the perspective of a Black female, to just see her rise to this occasion in such a short period of time and galvanize all of these different groups and do it in a way that's really classy but also hard, hitting Right and, um, really kind of speaks to where we are in our time and also reaching out to various different groups and also her, her messaging of, you know, wanting to be inclusive of people that don't even vote for her.

Brittany S. Hale: 3:41

Right, that's, that is exactly what I was going to hit on. So, yes, I also voted early. Mina came with me in a little sling.

Karen McFarlane: 3:51

She got a little.

Brittany S. Hale: 3:52

I voted early sticker. She did not vote for those who maybe. She got a little. I voted early sticker. She did not vote for those who maybe. But, um, I, I agree with you because I I don't know if I told you I come from a family of strong military family. Almost my father served in the military, um, my aunts and uncles have served. So I always say our family, we're as American as apple pie, we're as patriotic as one can get.

Brittany S. Hale: 4:26

And being in a space where you know, having worked on campaigns before making calls on this campaign and speaking with people all over the country about what's important to them, it's exciting. It does feel like the first time I ever voted. I voted for President Obama and that was amazing, right, because one. It was like, oh, I worked on this campaign, right, so you had this immediate sense of your effort yielding some sort of return, right, right. But subsequently, after that, having run for office, been in elected office, come out, it's, it's just an indescribable feeling. It's just an indescribable feeling, if you liked, the first day of school, it's kind of like that. But it's really exciting just to speak with people in your community, figure out what's important to them and come together to think about what, what comes next and the type of country you want to live in.

Brittany S. Hale: 5:36

And I was going to mention I don't know if you saw Harrison Ford's ad. He recently came out and advised that he voted for Kamala Harris. And again, you know, from a marketing perspective. I'd love to hear what you think about her campaign from that marketing lens, because I think it's just ingenious. But he says she's protecting your right to disagree with her Right, exactly, not typically vote for a Democrat or for who? For Republicans who felt, quite frankly, pushed out of their party because of extreme ideals. It's such a simple platform I'm protecting your right to disagree with me, right, and? And working forward.

Karen McFarlane: 6:33

So I um, I think that, or at least I really do feel like her whole platform is based on authenticity, um, her lived experience, both personally and professionally. Uh, she talks a lot about family and her upbringing and the positives and the challenges around that. I think that she has been on the ground in understanding all the different issues, and so when you bake something in your lived experience and your authenticity, it just comes out. It makes the marketing so much easier, right, because you're not actually making anything up.

Karen McFarlane: 7:24

Your biggest challenge is how do you communicate all of those things in a way that resonates with people in the world now that we live in, which really requires these short sound bites, correct, correct. And if anybody's ever written anything, you know it's so much harder to write something short than it is to write something long. Right, and so it's the same principle. I think her team is pretty amazing with a again classy but no holds barred attitude. Right, they seize upon opportunities in a moment's notice. Yeah, if something is happening, it feels like everything is happening primarily in real time, right?

Brittany S. Hale: 8:16

Yes.

Karen McFarlane: 8:18

That is just a testament to the apparatus that she has around her that is in tune with culture and society and also it needs to happen to, you know, meet the end goal right, they have the end goal in mind and they're working backwards and they're telling their truth. Now, people may not agree with their truth or have different versions of it, but it's their truth that they want to bring to the American people. Correct, and I have nothing but respect for that apparatus that also respects the audience that they're trying to serve.

Brittany S. Hale: 9:02

And this is this underscores the importance of diversity, right, because she could have gone the way of hiring, you know, communications experts who've been in the field for decades, and we see not only people with extensive experience, but we see, to your point about culture. We see a lot of Gen Zers on her team, right, people who've grown up and continue to live online, and so you do have these rapid responses to these moments that are, quite frankly, bizarre. I mean, there was they. They took a clip of a rally from her opponent and they just tweeted out a question mark because there was, there was a sense of it being so odd, you know, and us not apparently having the same takeaway, but they're able to authentically not only capture your attention, but you feel like she's receiving it, similarly, like what is what is happening, right?

Brittany S. Hale: 10:10

You know, yeah, and I think it's really awesome to see someone who has experienced both. You know well in all three really the judicial, the legislative and executive branches of government. For those of you who forgot civics classes, there are three branches of government. Those of you who forgot civics classes, there are three branches of government. But I think that's really important because, as accomplished as she is, she's still very approachable.

Karen McFarlane: 10:48

Yeah yeah, well, can we talk about that for a minute? Because, like yes, just as you just pointed out, she has all this professional experience which typically we think has a certain persona attached to it, but because she's extremely comfortable in her skin. We see not only that professional, corporate, quote, unquote side right, but we see some of the everyday side of her. I'm not saying we're going to see all of it because we're not in our house, we're not hanging around our family, okay but you kind of get a sense of that, especially when you know you see moments of her, like when she's talking about cooking, or you know.

Brittany S. Hale: 11:37

That's exactly what I was going to say. Yes, and you see the joy, you see that and the excitement, and you know she's getting and this is what you're going to do, and the same that you would have with a friend or a colleague or someone you're getting to know.

Karen McFarlane: 11:52

Yeah, yeah, exactly, someone you're getting to know you. Yeah, yeah, exactly, and so that that's that approach.

Karen McFarlane: 12:01

I think that's that approachability piece because it's so relatable and I just have to say this right, because Obama had this factor too, just like this general cool factor. Because, yes, because, well, I'm just going to say she's not putting on an act about being cool like Black people, people of color. We're cool people, all, right, a, you know, we're not. We're far and few in between, right, obviously, this is a big one, of the biggest ones, and we see those people being authentically black or, in her case, also authentically South Asian, also authentically South Asian. Right, that's cool, because our quote unquote norm was something else, not saying that something else was bad, it just wasn't as relatable to us. And so when we can relate to that and other groups relate to that too, as we've seen across, you know, history and time it just feels good because it allows you to just kind of be other people, to be comfortable in their own skin, because you can be comfortable in those higher platforms of society.

Brittany S. Hale: 13:37

Yeah, and women in leadership, especially women of color, especially Black women, are encouraged to compartmentalize right. And you so. When you think of a presidential candidate, you think of a dark colored pantsuit, an American flag pin and this stoic demeanor in order to be taken seriously. Whereas, to your point, yes, we can get the corporate Kamala right, the competent Kamala which is pervasive through every part, but we've gotten to see her as an aunt and a stepmom, someone who deeply cares about her family, who is going to give you her favorite recipe. And here's what you need to do and you know all of these spaces to take the time to learn a little bit of sign language, to connect with people to your point more authentically and to center them. And so I think this is exciting. I mean, I have a mentor, uh, you know an Italian guy in his 60s, you know, and this weekend he texted and he's like hey, I'm going to, you know, I'm going to Pennsylvania, do you want? Come, we have room in the car.

Brittany S. Hale: 15:02

You know, like this, this energy of connection. You see people at her rallies, regardless of their background. You know people walking down the street that you may not think are going to have much in common are showing up at the rallies, dancing to you know, whatever artist is there, and even if that's not the artist that they may normally listen to. It's that space of getting to explore and be free and connect which, despite all of the different channels for connection we have, is more lacking than ever. I think we're deeply lacking in connection, and so I really appreciate this energy of people becoming patriots. I mean the American flag, right. Even if you, I think, if you drive past someone who has a flag on their car a car you're biased. You're probably going to assume something about what they support, who they support, what their political affiliation is, and it's so exciting to see that that's no longer the case because people are excited and coming back to what it means to be a patriot.

Karen McFarlane: 16:27

Yeah, I love that sentiment because you know, you're right, there's a certain connotation based on what the past you know, few years have been and it is something to think that everybody can raise that flag.

Karen McFarlane: 16:40

It is something to think that everybody can raise that flag and, no matter what your beliefs are, we're unified under it and hopefully, after Tuesday, that will be a signal, a great signal I also want to tap into, because when you're talking about connection, it's also the not solely, but it's also the power of, it's also female power, right, that is something that you know from various studies that we're actually really strong in is listening, not always thinking that we have the answer right, and bringing people together, and that's also she's tapping into, that female energy, probably quite naturally right, and I think that's why we're getting a completely different vibe as well, because that's a different leadership style, right, and that leadership style is born out of many things, one thing being female energy. But her ability to listen is so incredibly important because and you know, she's listening through her responses and her reflection and also through her policy Right, and at the very least, people feel heard, and that is a really powerful connection point is a really powerful connection point, absolutely.

Brittany S. Hale: 18:30

I was just have you ever spoken to someone and you can tell there's something behind their eyes that makes it clear that they're just waiting for you to be quiet so they can go ahead and say what they're going to say. That's not active listening, right? And so we see these micro affirmations, her nodding her head, her inclining her head. You know, you see, that she's truly centered on and responsive to the people that she's engaging with, and even when her, her answers aren't perfectly scripted or perfectly articulated, that, to me, signals this person is actively listening. They're not just coming from working from a script, and that authenticity, I think, is incredibly important. And when you're speaking about what women bring to leadership, we have these spaces and we're now exploring these strengths that are required for leadership. Connection, the ability to build consensus and be authentically doing so, is a strength. It's one of the premier strengths that you have to have In this day and age and it's really important. I think it's fascinating to see such a great example of what a woman in leadership can look like, and even with the cooking like.

Brittany S. Hale: 20:01

I'm pleasantly surprised that more people are not saying, well, she shouldn't talk about cooking, or conversely. That's where women belong. You know women belong in the kitchen. It's a facet of who she is. It doesn't define who she is. Because she is a woman Doesn't have to Fit into the stereotype of or doesn't have to fear being authentically herself. She doesn't have to fear saying I like to cook because I'm sure certain advisors would say stay away from the cooking. You're a woman, people aren't going to like that. You have to dispel yourself of all of the things that we traditionally think of as a gendered role Right for a woman, right, and we embrace that. You know it could be be in the kitchen, evil stepmom. You know all of these tropes that she's kind of. She's spun on their head and embrace them, which to me makes me respect her more.

Karen McFarlane: 21:03

I totally agree. I mean again, our norm has been what white males do, or what males do. Norm has never been in a positive, not in a in a positive and empowering way what women do right as normal.

Karen McFarlane: 21:22

And so it. It is refreshing to see that, and we all know this. As women, we are multifaceted, we are multitaskers, correct, and we still bring our best to the table. I was watching Diplomat on Netflix. Yes, right, yeah, and I don't want to give it away for the viewers, but Allison Janney makes appearance in the last two episodes of the season, of season two, and, if you guys remember her, she's in a lot of shows, but she was originally a West Wing, so it's kind of like another political situation and she's the vice president and Carrie Russell plays. Oh shoot, what's her name? Katie, katie Weiler, I believe. So I wish they would have kept her curls, but that's just.

Karen McFarlane: 22:13

So, to this point, allison Janney's character vice president criticizes her for not having a particular look Interesting, for wearing like, for not caring about her appearance, for not caring about her appearance, for not caring about her hair, and she admits that when she first started her gig, that was something that she didn't want to care about, but quickly found that she did have to care about it and her rationale was because katie was like I really just want people to focus on my policy. She's like you're never good. No one's going to read your. It's going to be a soundbite, but your picture is going to show up as vice president because, sure, there's running for vice president 12,000 and 12,000 times per day and that's what people are going to see. Yeah, you have to have this external persona and I thought that was really powerful. Right, because we sit here and we say you know, we don't have to look a certain way. Right, and as women, we shouldn't be held to this particular standard. And of course, people are talking and are going to continue to talk about what Kamala wears. Right, because she is a woman. That's the framing and we don't talk about men in the same way, except for Obama's beige suit. Yes, that's the reality and I don't think we could just ignore it. But as long as we are talking about that in a positive and affirming way, I have to say that I don't know what rally it was.

Karen McFarlane: 23:53

I was watching some rally on television and I saw Kamala walk out in jeans. I was like, oh my God, she's wearing jeans. I called my mother over, I'm like, let me see what she wore. We were all excited about her wearing jeans and I was like why am I excited about her wearing jeans? Well, the reason and I've seen her in a few more clips wearing jeans the reason is like everyday, people wear jeans. We wear jeans every single day and again. This relatability and this authenticity, you know, that idea of wearing jeans Exactly Brings connection in a just, in a way, unconscious way. Right, you're like, oh okay, she's still got her blazer, she still looks professional. Right, she's still got her, you know, five inch heels or whatever it is. But it's just so interesting how we as women have to be, have to think about our presence in a completely different way and what signals it may have.

Karen McFarlane: 24:54

I'm sure that was thought through also.

Brittany S. Hale: 24:57

Yes, absolutely Absolutely.

Karen McFarlane: 25:01

So I can't wait to see what else she wears. To be honest, like I, was fascinated with Michelle Obama's outfits and hair, I can't, I can't, lie. I was fascinated by it, obama's outfits and hair.

Brittany S. Hale: 25:10

I can't, I can't lie. I was fascinated by it. I could totally bring up Housewives and Gemma Lyons, but I won't. But you see the pervasiveness. Housewives is important in every conversation, people. For those who have no idea what I'm speaking about Gemma Lyons, formerly of JCrew. Jenna Lyons, formerly of JCrew she was the person who was designing for and dressing Michelle Obama during the Obama presidency.

Karen McFarlane: 25:40

So there you go. Oh my goodness, but it's so interesting. I'm so excited to see what happens. I'm actually not nervous. No, no, I have decided to speak life to it. I think that this is a moment in time In some ways. My mother said this. My mother said I think it's her destiny. And I was like you know, I agree with you and I'm not going to pay attention to all the polls and all that stuff, because it's, first of all, it's too stressful. I was hanging out with a couple of friends, uh, last night, and they were like you know what? They're going to find something else to watch on Tuesday, because we probably won't know the results, yeah, after, although I'm really hoping for a landslide. So I hope everybody goes out there and does what they need to do, but maybe they won't even call it that early, even if it is a landslide. But yeah, yeah, wake up to a. Maybe not on Wednesday, but we'll wake up one day.

Brittany S. Hale: 26:58

Yeah, I, I actually just came back from grocery shopping because I've been asking everyone. I asked you unintentionally since you, but I want to know what people's election night meals are going to be and you know what they're going to do to bring joy to themselves and their families. So if that's watching election coverage, great. I know certain members of my family are like oh, you know, I have been waiting, you know I have been waiting. You know this series just wrapped up, so excited to binge it all in one night. So I think everyone is hopeful, everyone's excited and I think, to your point, you've done what you needed to do. So I think that when there's nothing more that you can do, you.

Karen McFarlane: 28:03

I think that's the election night meal this time, okay, so, um, my mother, most of my parents, were here nursing me for this broken foot Right, so they left, they went back to Floridaida, and so my mother cooked a bunch of meals that are still in the fridge, and so, actually, I was trying to pull this up really quickly, but I don't think I could find it that fast, but anyway, she oh, here it is. I'll tell you what she made. I know there is lasagna, there is Rasta Pasta with grilled chicken, there's meatballs, barbecue ribs, jerk chicken and a pot roast, and also oxtail.

Brittany S. Hale: 28:41

A pot roast and oxtail. Yes, mina and I will be right over, don't worry.

Karen McFarlane: 28:48

Don't worry, we have lots of food, okay, so one of those will be the meals.

Brittany S. Hale: 28:58

I love that. Shout out to moms.

Karen McFarlane: 29:02

Exactly it's great. All right.

Brittany S. Hale: 29:07

Hopefully she's listening. She can hear that she got a special shout out.

Karen McFarlane: 29:13

All right, hopefully she's listening. She can hear that she got a special shout out, all right. Well, everybody needs to go out there and vote, if they haven't done so already, and put good vibes into the air. Take a friend or three, or five, yes, yes. And then, after Kamala Harris becomes Vice President, kamala Harris becomes President-elect Harris, then do all you can to support her.

Brittany S. Hale: 29:39

I just got to chill. Oh, that's so great.

Karen McFarlane: 29:42

Good, president-elect Harris, you can do this. It's going to get done.

Brittany S. Hale: 29:50

It's going to get done, it's going to get done.

Karen McFarlane: 29:51

It's going to get done. There's no other version of reality that I will. I am willing to accept at this point.

Brittany S. Hale: 29:57

No timeline jumping.

Karen McFarlane: 29:59

We're, we're here, we're staying here All right, so the next time we will speak will be after the election.

Brittany S. Hale: 30:11

Oh, my goodness. Yes, and I already apologized in advance, because I'm going to be sending you text after text on Wednesday.

Karen McFarlane: 30:22

So they won't see those.

Brittany S. Hale: 30:25

Yes, you all won't see that, but we'll recap it for you by the time the election's over.

Karen McFarlane: 30:33

Exactly. We'll do a recap for our episode next. All right, until then. Until our next text message, brittany, until our next text message Bye, bye.