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| cnn.com |
Hello Everyone:
Night one of the virtual Democratic National Convention was a barn burner. The keynote speaker was former First Lady Michelle Obama, who calmly eviscerated incumbent Mr. Donald Trump and Trumpism with his own words, "It is what it is." Elegant in its simplicity. laying bare the true face of the president and his administration. Momentary digression.
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No cute quips or one liners, no hysterics, no self-aggrandizing declarations, just honesty. In one sense it was pure Michelle Obama, plain spoken, direct, direct from the heart. In another sense, here was an American citizen--albeit one with a global citizen--using her moment to directly address the President of The United States, telling him in no uncertain terms that he "failed to meet the moment" and was "in over his head." Of course, the president reacted with a classic Twitter tantrum but it does not matter, his actions in the nearly four years speaks for itself. It is what it is. Onward.
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| wisconsincenter.com |
One of the key points in Ms. Obama's speech was continuation of the stirring speech she gave at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where she famously told the cheering audience,
When they go low, we go high (washingtonpost.com; Aug. 17, 2020; date accessed Aug. 18, 2020)
Michelle Obama looked directly into the camera and told the viewers,
But let's be clear, going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty,...Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that maountaintop. Going high means standing fierce against while remembering that we are one nation under God" (Ibid).
Along the same line, Ms. Obama took direct aim at the president's repeated statement about the COVID-19 death toll "is what it is." The former FLOTUS called him out, something she didn't do in that 2016 speech, only this time she meant it. Ms. Obama succinctly put it,
Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,...He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is (washingtonpost.com; Aug. 17, 2020)
Michelle Obama concluded her keynote address with a very personal endorsement for VPOTUS Joe Biden and instructed the audience to get ready for any and all obstacles to casting their votes.
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| Former Ohio Governor John Kasich (R-Ohio) cleveland.com |
Republicans for Biden. A little bit of a blast from elections past: Republicans for Obama in 2008. If the election cycle, thus far, made one thing clear, VPOTUS Biden is not a militant left-wing socialist or the puppet of the more leftist branch of the Democratic party. Quite the contrary, which is why he received the endorsements of a number of prominent Republicans, including former Ohio Governor John Kasich. You sort of have to wonder where he and his fellow Republicans for Biden have been since 20 January 2017? Too fearful to speak up perhaps? No matter. Gov. Kasich got right to the heart of the issue. He put it quite plainly,
I'm sure there are Republicans and independents who couldn't imagine crossing over to support a Democrat; they fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind,... I don't believe that, because I know the measure of a the man--reasonable, faithful, respectful. And you know, no one pushes Joe around (Ibid)
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reached out to liberals' who are still on the fence about VPOTUS Biden, essentially saying that the Gentleman from Delaware may not be a liberals' dream candidate but he is someone they can work with. The Gentleman from Vermont surprisingly endorsed his former political rival's health care plan despite attacking it vociferously He told his supporters,
As long as I am here, I will work with progressives, with moderates, and, yes, with conservatives, to preserve this nation from a threat that so many of our heroes fought and died to defeat...(washingtonpost.com; Aug. 17, 2020)
Another that was made, "while discussing police reform in a virtual round table, Biden himself echoed a police chief who said there are more good police than bad ones" (Ibid). The Gentleman from Delaware said,
Most cops are good,... But the fact is the bad ones have to be identified and prosecuted and out, period (Ibid)
Governor Kasich's own speech was larger in one respect. Yes, it was a DNC sanctioned speech but focus your attention on the the emphasis not the content. For his part, the Gentleman from Delaware is not as left as progressive Democrats would like him to be and maybe that is fine. Maybe after going from one end of the political ideology spectrum to the other, maybe what the United States needs is something in the middle.
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| Kristin Urquiza cnn.com |
One of the features of the political conventions are testimonials from ordinary citizens, especially those directly affected by election year issues like police violence and the coronavirus. Perhaps no one testimonial landed with as much force was that of Kristin Urquiza, whose father passed away from the COVID virus. Ms. Urquiza, as she has done in The Washington Post's Outlook section, placed the blame squarely on the president. She told the viewers,
He had faith in Donald Trump,... He voted for him, listened to him, believed him and his mouthpieces when they said the coronavirus was under control and going to disappear--that it was okay to end social distancing rules before it was safe, and that if you had no underlying health conditions, you'd probably be fine (washingtonpost.com; Aug. 17, 2020)
Kristin Urquiza's father heeded that advice and went to a karaoke bar in her home state of Arizona as soon as Governor Doug Doucy lifted the virus restrictions, which resulted in one of the worst resurgences in the nation. She continued,
My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump. And for that he paid with his life (Ibid)
Ms. Urquiza is hardly the first to blame Trump for the death of a loved one, but it was a searingly emotional testimonial. What is on deck for this evening at the virtual Democrat National Convention night 2?
This evening's line up will be a star-studded event featuring former President Bill Clinton, up-and-coming star Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and the keynote address delivered by Dr. Jill Biden. Among the Republicans for Biden scheduled to speak is Cindy McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain. The marquee event is a virtual roll call vote to formally nominate Vice President Joe Biden. Looking ahead to Wednesday, Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren California Senator Kamala Harris will formally accept the nomination for vice president. The grand finale is Thursday when VPOTUS Biden formally accepts his nomination for president.
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