Wednesday was day three of the democratic national convention which was graced by some of the party’s powerful figures – President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, who gave persuasive speeches in support of the former secretary of state. She couldn’t summon the casual conversational brilliance of her husband or Barack Obama, either.
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How exactly did she rebound from that devastating defeat, which Chelsea Clinton recalled being “pretty tough to watch” at the impressionable age of 14. “Everyone already knows the powerhouse – now, with this piece, everyone will also get to know the person”.
Selling that message will depend on whether Clinton can reach voters walled off by longstanding distrust.
Obama is a hard act to follow, but Clinton’s speech last night humanized her and is a good start for chipping away at the layers of distrust that have congealed around her. She offers two things: an agenda-as opposed to a message-and a demeanor. I’m more impressed with the latter than with the former.
While many Sanders supporters are unenthusiastic about Clinton, she is still set to win most of their votes. The examples were non-stop admirable-to a point. “You might not like the answer, but she answered it”. “For nearly a decade, Hillary never gave up, and she was there with us when the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was finally passed”. Honest liberals know this and they know why.
“I’m not telling you everything is peachy keen”. This is true across the government-from the VA to HHS. There’s too much inequality. She has a genuine strength that differs profoundly from her opponent’s bluster.
Looking around the Wells Fargo Center night after night, I could see those fresh shock troops Barber was calling to action-the young activists who’ve been derided all week as “childish”, but who are the future of the liberal movement. Washington state Sanders delegate Darin Brunstad also demurred, saying he would focus on down-ballot races.
“I wish Hillary would re-read her own book and take action based on her own words”, she said. There was little or no case for the defence of “Crooked Hillary” – as Trump calls her – and with 100 days to the election, this was a mistake as it will be her most vulnerable flank.
“Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis”, she said.
She said that she, like many, thought “he couldn’t possibly mean all the awful things he says” and that “someone who wants to lead our nation could say those things, could be like that”. I’d go on to list the ages of other Democratic members of Congress and governors and state legislators, but the truth is there aren’t many. Clinton has that-metaphorically, of course.
And, I suppose, in the end, when you’re talking about what matters most in a president, I’ve come to believe that it’s the ability to hold your bladder-to listen carefully, to keep calm, not to rush to judgment or shoot your mouth off. In a world that has come to be defined and will continued to be defined by random acts of terror and mental illness, a steady hand is a crucial quality.
Clinton has often been criticized for failing to paint a vivid, Elizabeth Warren-style picture of why the economy isn’t working for everyone-that it isn’t just an unfortunate turn of events, but the result of political decisions that favor the rich.
We’re not going to see a Nixon-with-Checkers attempt at rebranding over the next few months. A higher minimum wage, free college tuition, a demand that American companies bring jobs back home and a distinct discomfort with free trade were all promised on Thursday night.
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And she didn’t seem to mind that one bit.
