Can she make America laugh again?

It's a laugh that's got the nation divided.

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Some Americans call it a cackle that's as harsh as Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris' progressive politics. Her supporters say it's the boisterous froth of a campaign of "joy".

"I love that laugh," said her husband Doug Emhoff in his speech at the four-day Democratic National Convention that concluded on a high note with a speech by Ms Harris on Aug 22.

Former first lady Michelle Obama remarked on it in her rockstar appearance on the second day of the convention, where she declared that hope was making a comeback in bare-knuckled American politics with the entry of Ms Harris.

"The steel of her spine, the steadiness of her upbringing, the honesty of her example and, yes, the joy of her laughter and her light," Mrs Obama said as the arena echoed with applause.

The political hand-wringing over a woman's laugh struck a note with Mrs Hillary Clinton, the 2016 presidential candidate who had faced the same criticism for her fullthroated expression of mirth. She lost to Republican Donald Trump, the same man that Ms Harris is running against.

"It is no surprise, is it, that he is lying about Kamala's record, he's mocking her name and her laugh. Sound familiar?” quipped Mrs Clinton on the opening night of the convention as she urged support for Ms Harris' attempt to break the proverbial glass ceiling to become the first female US president.