In hindsight we should have seen it coming. At the RNC, the wife of a candidate running against the president managed to plagiarize the First Lady of the United States. And there was no apology.
The Obamas were all in anyway for Hillary Clinton because of his legacy, loyalty, friendship and all that, but unlike with Bernie, and to some extent even Hillary, it is personal between the Obamas and Donald Trump.
Remember birtherism?
So we should have expected Michelle Obama to bring it Monday night. And Democrats should be grateful, especially Hillary.
The first day of the Democratic National Convention started off in chaos (an ousted chair, protestors in the streets, terrible logistics, sweltering heat, and boos for Hillary from Bernie delegates) but ended in hope. And Obama rhetoricial gift.
When the convention gaveled in, and Bernie delegates, some dressed as Robin Hood, caused disruption, the atmosphere inside the arena was almost tense. Liberals were quoting Yeats in their minds, the center cannot hold. By the time the night was over, their was a new measure of confidence.
Don’t call it unity. Call it a common cause, against fascism, against Trump.
There will be future skirmishes inside the party between the rising star Cory Booker, and the Warren wing in control of the legislative agenda. Charter schools. Tax rates. TPP. But that’s for tomorrow.
There’s an election to be won.
On the television screen you might have noticed the Bernie or Bust delegates yelling and acting stubborn. They exist. Even after Sarah Silverman’s dissension busting words from the podium, some still exist. They matter less after today.
Sanders said what was necessary to close the night. That he’s supporting Hillary. But the holdouts are folks who, like him, weren’t Democrats in the first place.
Hillary’s ultimate problem wasn’t the hard left. It’s the soft left. The Obama coalition of minorities and urban liberals. They love the president. They love Michelle. And the great threat in this election wasn’t the college socialist voting for Jill Stein. It was the 35-year-old mother of three staying home.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren won the Democratic primary. They won the platform. The stopped the president’s trade deal in its tracks. The Democratic Party is further to the left now in program and in instinct than any time since Truman.
There is no conservative wing. There are no Dixiecrats. That the party is worried of angering its left and not its right is the shift from the age of Bill Clinton to that of his wife.
Going into the night, I thought Bernje and Warren needed to give the speeches of their lives to help Hillary bounce back in the polls. But they didn’t. They were fine. But not great.
Michelle Obama was great. On Wednesday Barack Obama will be great. And for one more week, the Democratic Party belongs to them.
Ps…..The City of Charlotte and North Carolina Democrats should look back with pride on their DNC in 2012. I waited over an hour in a concession line tonight for a hot dog and a water. And that was common. Delegates are not happy about the conditions, nor are journalists. And the near universal talk around the hall is that the last DNC was a organized affair. So we should be proud.
Sander’s speech at the Philadelphia convention is reminiscent of a line from Merle Haggard’s homage to Lefty in the hit 80’s ballad Pancho and Lefty: “….he only did what he__ had__ to__ do, and now__he’s growing old.”
Warren’s disingenuous claims about Trump and Republicans were shrill and robotic.
Michele’s speech was by far the best of the evening and it was refreshing to hear her praise the USA as the best country in the world. Quite a contrast from some of her remarks in 2008 when she lamented about how badly minorities were being treated in the U.S. Guess living in the White House for her husband’s two terms changed her perspective.
Corey Booker’s yells and gyrations made it look like he was auditioning for a role as a fundamentalist preacher in a television sitcom. He would be good at stand up comedy.
The Clintons are the conservative wing of the Party.
No one in the Party is farther to the Right than they are on matters of trade, war, Wall Street criminality, public health, or campaign finance reform.
After Sanders’ speech, I couldn’t help but think that Bernie should be the nominee and Clinton the VP. I admire Clinton immensely but observe that the passion and excitement is with Sanders. While both are imminently qualified, I personally feel Bernie is the most electable. With that said, ANYBODY is better than Trump!