After weeks of chaos on the campaign trail, the new Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has brought some voters new enthusiasm for the US presidential election. But will this early bump propel Harris to the White House? Progressive leaders around the world have countered the chaos of conservatives by projecting calm and by running sensible, risk averse campaigns. Bridie Jabour speaks to Guardian Australia’s editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, national news editor, Josephine Tovey, and head of news, Mike Ticher, about the politics of being sensible and what voters really want in their leader