Kamala Harris and Tim Walz both gave great speeches last night.

But I was more interested in the dynamics surrounding Josh Shapiro’s appearance. As a number of people acknowledged, Philly’s notoriously rambunctious crowds had the potential to express dissatisfaction that their beloved Governor wasn’t chosen.

It created the same kind of delicate situation that Kamala navigated when she fully supported Biden through the period he was contemplating dropping, only to focus on the debt she owed him in the first several appearances she made after she assumed the mantle of candidate.

Indeed, Walz even paid tribute to Shapiro in some of his first comments.

My god, what a treasure you have in Josh Shapiro. Holy Hell can this guy bring the fire. He can bring the fire. This is a visionary leader. Also I can tell you: everybody in America knows, when you need a bridge fixed, call that guy. And I think sometimes we forget, and you see people a little one dimensional, but seeing a guy who cares so deeply about his family, a man with compassion, vision, and I have to tell you this, I know this from experience: there is no one you would rather to go a Springsteen concert with than him. Than that guy.

Remember: Trump recently said he doesn’t like Springsteen because Springsteen doesn’t like him…

As it happened, the excitement of the Walz pick led at least CSPAN to expand their coverage of the rally to pick up the earlier speakers, giving Bob Casey some earned media. And that, of course, included Governor Shapiro’s speech, which substantially served as tribute to Shapiro’s mutual love affair with Philadelphia, complete with its role in founding the freedom of the United States.

In the wake of last night’s rally, there are several stories out (one, two) claiming — dubiously — that some of the divisive hits on Shapiro leading up to Saturday’s pick weren’t an effort to renew the same schism around Israel that had undercut Biden’s support since last October, but were instead a jujitsu effort to persuade Vice President Harris not to pick Pennsylvania’s popular governor.

Trump, though, has already ruined the efforts to retroactively claim credit for Kamala’s pick, admitting on Fox that he was “absolutely surprised” that Kamala didn’t pick Shapiro. They laid all that dirt because by their logic, Shapiro was the only choice.

As he had been counting on Joe Biden as his opponent (and seems to still be hoping that comes back), Trump had been counting on Shapiro being the VP candidate, even while still mobilizing his antisemitic slur against Adam Schiff.

Republicans were left flat-footed again, claiming they want to run on Walz’ failures to stop violence after the George Floyd protests, without thinking through what it would mean to run on inaction in the face of violent assaults. Even during the George Floyd protests, Trump was hiding in the White House bunker, and he watched in glee as his mob attacked the Capitol on January 6.

Republican trolls were left meming the free tampons Walz made available in schools, without thinking that the same logic behind giving free breakfast and lunch to any kid who wants it — eliminating one of the barriers to get kids present in school and learning — lies behind making period products available for free, too.

So they reverted to their attempts to sow division.

One after another Republican tried to wrench some animosity out of the Walz pick by claiming that Democrats won’t pick Jews in prominent positions. Which led some prominent Jews to express confusion.

Yet there has been little comment about what Shapiro himself said about his faith.

Josh Shapiro mobilized a lot of Philadelphia’s own imagery of Liberty in his speech last night, surely one drafted in part thinking it would be an acceptance speech.

But he ended by invoking his faith.

I wanna just say this. I lean on my family and I lean on my faith, which calls me to serve. And I am proud of my faith. Now hear me. I’m not here to preach at y’all but I want to tell you what my faith teaches me. My faith teaches me that no one — no one — is required to complete the task but neither are we free to refrain from it. That means, that means, that each of us has a responsibility to get off the sidelines, to get in the game, and to do our part. Are you ready to do your part? Are you ready to form a more perfect union? Are you ready to build an America where no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love or who you pray to, that this will be a place for you. And are you ready to look the next President of the United States in the eye and say, “Hello, Madam President”?

Josh Shapiro used his faith as a way to call thousands of ardent supporters to put in the work to make Kamala Harris, Madam President. Josh Shapiro used his Jewish faith to promise a more perfect union.

Republicans were hoping to use Shapiro — whether he was selected or not — as a way to recreate divisions in the Democratic party. And that plan to divide first — to run on sowing divisions in America — left them flat-footed and unprepared, once again.

Update: Fixed my misspelling of The Boss’ name.