It's Friday, Aug. 23, and the Democratic National Convention ended last night. Today, weary and euphoric, delegates are scrambling to make their flights home, satisfied in the knowledge that they had a successful convention and have pulled even with, or ahead of, the Republicans in the 2024 elections.
Friday, as loyal readers of this newsletter know, is the day when I offer up quotations meant to be uplifting or informative. This morning, I'll reprise several of the most evocative lines uttered from the stage in the Democrats' four-day informercial on behalf of Kamala Harris.
Political conventions aren't what they used to be. By that I mean that nothing substantive happens there. In Chicago this week, that was conspicuously true. The nominee wasn't chosen, the running mate wasn't chosen, the binding delegate role call had already taken place – as had the formulation of the party's platform. Mostly it's music and cheering and speeches, plenty of speeches. Here are some of the week's highlights:
MONDAY: President Biden, shoved past prime time either by design or ineptness gave an over-long address in which he reprised many of the lines on his basic stump speech. But speaking to his fellow Americans as well as the delegates in the United Center, Biden also said this:
"I've made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you."
TUESDAY: Michelle Obama used an elaborate set-up to needle Donald Trump about his awkward exchange with black journalists in which he asserted that illegal immigrants had taken "black jobs."
"For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking and highly educated, successful people who happen to be black," Michelle Obama said. Then she added the real zinger: "Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those ‘black jobs'?"
When it was his turn to speak, Michelle Obama's husband began with a self-deprecating quip about the only person "stupid enough" to follow his wife to the stage. But he did fine.
"Our politics has become so polarized these days that all of us, across the political spectrum, seem quick to assume the worst in others unless they agree with us on every single issue," he said. "We start thinking that the only way to win is to scold and shame and out-yell the other side … That approach may work for the politicians who just want attention and thrive on division. But it won't work for us.
"To make progress on the things we care about, the things that really affect people's lives, we need to remember that we've all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices; and that if we want to win over those who aren't yet ready to support our candidate, we need to listen to their concerns – and maybe learn something in the process.
"After all, if a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe, we don't automatically assume they're bad people. We recognize the world is moving fast, and that they need time and maybe a little encouragement to catch up. Our fellow citizens deserve the same grace we hope they'll extend to us."
WEDNESDAY: Speaking at his 13th consecutive convention, former President Bill Clinton drew attention to his own age (he turned 78 on Monday, noting that he's a few months younger than Donald Trump). Clinton made it clear why Democrats will value him. While most of the speakers shouted into the microphone, Clinton spoke softly, appealing to listeners' heads as well as their hearts, even while speaking about the man who defeated his wife in 2016.
"The next time you hear him, don't count the lies – count the I's," Clinton said. "His vendetta. His vengeance, his complaints, his conspiracies."
Wednesday was also the night when Kamala Harris' running mate introduced himself to the nation. As Tim Walz spoke, the delegates interrupted Minnesota's governor with chants of "Coach! Coach! Coach!" – a testament to his time as an educator and assistant football coach.
"We're down a field goal," he told them. "But we're on offense and we've got the ball. We're driving down the field. And, boy, do we have the right team."
THURSDAY: "My entire career, I've only had one client: the people," Kamala Harris said in the final speech of the convention.
"And so," she added, "on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America." And those of our quotes of the week.
Carl M. Cannon is the Washington bureau chief for RealClearPolitics. Reach him on X @CarlCannon.
