I hope everyone had the opportunity to watch the Democratic Convention last night. It was exhilarating! I have watched both parties’ conventions ever since they were first televised. I remember back when conventions were contested, when no candidate had enough votes to lock up the nomination beforehand, and there were multiple votes cast to choose the candidate. There were fewer primaries back then, and the candidate was chosen at the convention. Now the convention is a coronation.
This year, though, there was a historic switch at the top on the Democratic side. Biden was determined to stay in the race until he wasn’t. Many of the party’s leaders asked him to step aside because they feared that he would drag down the Democratic Party if he stayed in. He was finally persuaded to do so because he realized that he could not unite the party. So, knowing how important it was to defeat Trump, he agreed to drop out for the good of the nation.
Given that everyone knew for certain the identity of the nominees, the challenge for the Convention planners was how to keep it interesting.
And they did it by showcasing the rising stars of the party, like Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who is sharp-tongued and witty; Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who gets elected and re-elected in a red state; and AOC, who hit it out of the park with a fiery speech. Actually, everyone who spoke was awesome.
Then there were the three young women who talked about how their lives had been changed by harsh abortion bans. The third speaker, from Kentucky, Hadley Duvall, talked about being sexually abused and raped by her stepfather, learning she was pregnant when she was 12. She said, “”[Donald Trump] calls [total abortion bans] a ‘beautiful thing,'” Duvall said. “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”” There was silence and a collective gasp in the arena.
Hillary Clinton received a standing ovation that went on and on. And she delivered an eloquent, pointed speech. At one point, the audience broke into chants of “Lock him up!” She didn’t join in, but she smiled.
The highlight of the night was Joe Biden. His introduction by his daughter Ashley was moving. The audience welcome was ecstatic, and the cheers for him continued for several minutes. He was bathed in love and admiration. He spoke honestly, passionately, powerfully about his career, his love of country, his devotion to democracy, and his determination to keep Trump out of the White House. He said his decision to ask Kamala to be his running mate was the best decision of his long career. He said wistfully at the end of his speech that when he was first elected to the Senate at the age of 28, and now he is “too old” to run again.
Biden gave a cleared-eyed and incisive analysis of why this election is consequential. If you were not watching, I urge you to watch it now.
