What Went Down On The First Night Of The Democratic National Convention

Michelle Obama mentions Dwight Eisenhower, possibly a first for a Democratic convention. A big theme of the night — counteracted somewhat by the images surrounding the protests and discussions of police violence — has been reaching for cross-partisan patriotic themes and talking about maintaining American identity, values and greatness.

Obama mentioned that 2016 was a very close election. About 78,000 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin made the difference in the Electoral College. That worked out to about 0.06 percent of the 137 million votes cast.

I kinda think these conventions are like everything else during the pandemic, where you miss the live experience at first, especially if you’re a reporter who gets to go to these things — and let’s be honest, while there are a few advantages of the virtual format, they are outweighed by the disadvantages — but before too long you get more used to it and judge it on its own merits.