Clinton spoke for about one hour in Philadelphia. Her prime-time televised address is especially crucial because she has not so far generated the kind of passion among her supporters that Trump has garnered from his backers by channeling anger about the direction of the country. And reveal something of herself, a challenge for a woman who is famously guarded.
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She disputed Trump’s assertion that she wants to repeal the Second Amendment, saying “I’m not here to take away your guns”.
And tonight will be Bill Clinton’s moment to share about the woman he knows, his spouse, who just might get the first female President.
“Tonight, we’ve reached a milestone in our nation’s march toward a more flawless union: the first time that a major party has nominated a woman for president”, Clinton said.
Unity was the theme of the convention, captured in the slogan “Stronger Together”. But her real audience was the millions of voters watching at home, many of whom may welcome her experience as secretary of state, senator and first lady, but question her character. More broadly, Clinton sought to unite the nation at a time of racial tension, rising nativism, economic anxiety, and the threat of terrorism. “He wants to divide us.He wants us to fear the future and fear each other”, she said. He’s betting that the perils of today’s world will blind us to its unlimited promise. While Clinton and Obama have argued that ISIS is on the run, the economy is on the upswing, and Americans are safer than they have been in years, they are struggling to counter the dark image that Trump has painted of a nation in decline, chaos and disorder that resonates with many voters.
That invocation was also a reach across the partisan aisle to disaffected Republicans, alarmed by Trump’s takeover of the GOP. The charge comes after Melania Trump was criticised for lifting significant portions of her address to the convention from Michelle’s first convention speech in 2008.
Her efforts, she said, will focus particularly on places “that for too long have been left out and left behind, from our inner cities to our small towns, Indian Country to Coal Country”.
Thursday night, on stage accepting the nomination, Clinton delivered a speech that was a nod to the concept, that even though it was her night, she owed her success and shared the spotlight with many.
In late June, RCP Senior Elections Analyst Sean Trende noted an odd feature of state polling – that Trump was performing better than one might expect in swing states but fared worse in traditionally red states. “She said that what anxious President Kennedy during that very unsafe time”, Clinton said, “was that a war might be started, not by big men with self-control and restraint, but by little men – the ones moved by fear and pride”. He said that as a veteran of many civil rights protests, he understands the passions that drove the mostly young delegates to shout over his speech.
“At the end of the day, (Sanders’) coalition looked too much like a modern day Woodstock, and not enough like the Obama coalition it takes to win the primaries and the general”, said Boyd Brown, a Democratic National Committeeman from SC who supported former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Sanders was fully on board in trying to tame the progressive “revolution” he had fomented – and lost control of, to some degree.
“There is a group in the middle that’s not insane about either one, and still don’t know what they’re going to do”, said Tom Rath, a New Hampshire Republican who was senior advisor to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
The week began with a bang: the forced resignation of the party chair, after WikiLeak-ed emails revealed a bias for Clinton within the Democratic National Committee.
She also reached out to supporters of Vermont Sen. And on Monday night, he delivered a supportive speech to the convention.
“Standing here as my mother’s daughter, and my daughter’s mother, I’m so happy this day has come”.
“Really? “I alone can fix it”?” she asked.
Those attending the convention are among the most politically active, and the most committed to their respective candidates. Neither was the predictable infomercial that parties strive for.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine says he is “worried” about certain aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. We are covering the DNC live in Philadelphia. And ultimately, Clinton’s top rival for the nomination fell in line behind her.
The Democratic presidential candidate is going to have keep making that case to win over those who are still deciding which box to tick, or whether to vote at all. Trump has promised to change that. But this is no normal election, and as the race looks now, both parties have a fighting chance come November 8.
To the energized left, Clinton still has a lot to prove. If a convention as successful as this one doesn’t put Clinton back atop the polls, the Democrats have major cause for worry.
“Look at what happened in Dallas after the assassinations of five fearless police officers”, she said.
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“Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart”, she said.
