New Conventioning
I joined eighteen million other Americans who watched the “Virtual Democratic Convention” for the last two nights. And I am impressed. The “Big Tent” Party has so far managed to present an incredibly coherent message to the American people. The message is clear: we are in crisis, our current President neither cares nor is capable of handling it, and Joe Biden is both competent and compassionate. And not only have they done it, but it’s been with an amazing array of both known and unknown speakers. The Democratic Party has also created a whole new medium, a whole process of “conventioning” with almost no hitches.
I mean: it is the Democratic Party! There’s not much we do that doesn’t get “messy”. But somehow last night, we managed to put Stacy Abrams, Rosalyn and Jimmy Carter, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Colin Powell and Jill Biden on air with almost no hitches. And they all fit together. The production qualities are outstanding: even the fifty-seven state delegate vote went off with little hesitation. Way to go Pete Buttigieg, Northern Marianas, Vermont, and Delaware who “passes”!
Democratic Diversity
So what’s the substance of the “convention”? The Democratic Party is the party of diversity. We have “old white men”, like the candidates of the past: Clinton, Sanders, Kerry, and the present, Joe Biden. But we also include young gay state representatives from Georgia, Native American delegates from South Dakota, and immigrants from the Philippines who are now citizens in Hawaii. We have dynamic young Black men from Wisconsin and Philadelphia. And we have Black women, lots of them, from Chicago and Atlanta and throughout the South. And they are all bound and determined to see Joe Biden as the next President of the United States.
We saw familiar faces as well. Maria Yovanovitch, who testified so eloquently in the impeachment hearings, spoke for Biden. So did Sally Yates, who might well be the next Attorney General of the United States. And Bret McGurk, who was instrumental in two Administration’s National Security apparatus, laid out the case for a Biden Presidency: a case for leadership and competence, rather than confusion. Or, as Bill Clinton said, it’s either: “Four more years of blame, bully and belittle…” or Joe Biden to “…build back better”.
Women
But perhaps most striking about the “virtual convention” are the powerful women. Not only have the “masters of ceremonies” been women, but also we have heard from so many others. The “closers” of the first two nights: Michelle Obama and Jill Biden made the case. Michelle Obama made the argument for competency: Donald Trump is not, and Joe Biden would be. The former First Lady laid bare her constant fears and anxieties of the last three and a half years. And she told us how to cure that on November 3rd.
And Jill Biden was convincing when she spoke of her husband Joe as the “healer in chief”, a man who could reach across the divides of our nation and bring us together. Former Ohio Governor John Kasich said the same thing. So did Colin Powell, and Chuck Hegel. And so did Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain.
California Exchange
Tonight is the night of California Senator and Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris (“Comma-lah” not “Kamm-ah-lah” as my Trumpian neighbor made sure to correct me). She is the very face of the new Democratic Party: Black and Southwestern Asian, California and Howard University, Prosecutor and Justice reformer. She is the third woman to be a major party candidate for Vice President. America’s destiny is as a diverse nation. Joe Biden sees his role as the last of the “old white men”, the one to pass the baton to the new era of diversity and change. And Kamala Harris represents the “out-going runner” for that exchange.
But the real test of this convention won’t be about technical prowess and live feeds. Everyone from old white men to young Latina women have told us about Joe Biden. But Thursday, Joe himself will have to tell us his story, his goals, and his strengths. It will be much more than getting “seven words” in order, the President’s simplistic test of competency. Joe Biden must convince us that he’s got “the right stuff” that all of these other Americans have told us about.
Competency
Joe is no Barack Obama or even Bill Clinton when it comes to speech making. We don’t need to hear soaring oratory. What we need to hear is competence and compassion, and I have no doubt that’s what Joe Biden will deliver. It is what has always been in his heart.
We have been in a dark tunnel of Trumpism since November 9th, 2016. For the past two nights we have heard from an amazing group of Americans, of all colors and genders, ethnicities and professions. They tell us that Joe Biden is the light at the end of the tunnel. Donald Trump will spend next week trying to show that light as the westbound freight train to Chicago, about to smash into America.
So Joe, show us the light of a new and better future, not the apocalyptic nightmare that Trump warns about, or that we are living today. That’s the “low bar” for your message of Thursday night.
