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

No Zoom virtual backgrounds tonight, but Michelle’s Cookie Monster shirt is my favorite statement so far.

Two of the first three speakers were white men, one is a small business owner, one is a farmer. The kind of people they hope Biden connects with.

Little hiccup there of crosstalk because of virtual interview, just like on every Zoom call over the past five months.

As a kid who grew up in the country, though, I appreciate the screen door slam in the background of farmer Rick Telesz’s interview.

It’s also odd, Kaleigh, because they’re really trying to stick to the two-hour block! It’s a strange use of time, to say the least. Did anyone really tune into this hoping to hear Eva Longoria interview voters?

Well, we have to respect the West Coast, Kaleigh.

“Maybe if we all just came together,” says small business owner Scott, who was, I suppose, the first official speaker at the convention. He was bemoaning that the country is unable to solve major problems in part because it is too divided.

Some of this is well produced, but when they go back and forth from the studio to the “everyday Americans,” I’m getting some serious infomercial vibes.

As a reminder, only the second half of each night (from 10 p.m. Eastern on) is being aired on the major networks, so most Americans aren’t seeing these interviews with ordinary Americans.

While I appreciate kicking things off by highlighting regular people who have been impacted by COVID-19, I can’t help feeling like they’re losing an opportunity to hook viewers early with some of the bigger names on the agenda.

How do you think Marley organizes her books?

Longoria now interviewing a small business owner from Pennsylvania who is struggling in the face of the economic troubles from COVID-19.

The convention begins with a prayer from Rev. Gabriel Salguero, who is the president of the National Evangelical Coalition. Definitely leaning into idea that Democrats aren’t all secular liberals. (Which is true!)

It’s interesting that they’re still going ahead with the trappings of an in-person convention — the national anthem, the invocation — even in a virtual setting. I guess there might be a minor controversy if they skipped that stuff.

We’re 8 minutes in and this would probably have been like 20 minutes of content in a convention with an audience.

So far, they’ve hit all the regular things that happen at the start of a convention. Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem, now a prayer.

Just saw that one of the Star Spangled Banner Zoom call singers was from American Samoa and was reminded of where I was when I learned that Michael Bloomberg won the territory, truly one of the all-time game-changers in American political history.

Perhaps worth noting that the producer of the DNC has also produced the Tonys and Super Bowl halftime shows.

Clare, this is a lot of patriotism coming at me in the first five minutes.

So far, this opening video is reminding me of basically a very long campaign ad. Specifically the sentimental kind that Bernie Sanders really nailed in 2016. Specifically, that ad he set to “America” by Simon and Garfunkel

So far this is very tightly scripted! Julia Azari’s piece this morning noted that conventions are valuable for their spontaneous moments. I’d argue that raucous, contentious conventions are a sign of a healthy party. They show a party that can convene to make decisions on issues that are important enough to fight over, instead of just being handed nominees and a platform by their primary voters. Tightly scripted conventions like this week’s are fine, and probably a necessity in our current pandemic environment, but we should be striving for parties strong enough to make choices and fight over them.

Michelle Obama speaks tonight. She is incredibly popular with Democrats and Republicans. This bipartisan appeal makes her far more popular than most people who have hold, have held or are seeking elected office. Obviously, she is a good speaker and has an inspiring biography. But I think this also speaks volumes about partisanship and distrust in our politics that few politicians could command that kind of national approval.

Something to be said for all-virtual conventions: They can sure as heck keep on schedule.

This intro video is really showcasing the Democratic Party’s diversity, from Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi (who just called the convention to order) to Virginia state Delegate Danica Roem, the first transgender state legislator in the nation.

With this entirely virtual convention, the response on Twitter is probably the closest thing we have to crowd applause. To that end, we are rapidly collecting and analyzing how the Twitterverse is talking about the key figures of the night. But it’s always important to note that social media is not real life.

As we kick off the show, it should come as no surprise that Trump is dominating conversation on Twitter, with twice as many mentions as Biden. This election really is a referendum on the president first, everything else second.

Actor Eva Longoria Bastón is the DNC emcee. People may think that’s out of the blue, but she’s a grizzled veteran at political conventions: She spoke at both the 2012 and 2016 DNCs.

Don’t let the live blog fool you: Some of the staff here aren’t big fans of these conventions. In our latest FiveThirtyEight Debate Club, we argued over whether political parties should continue having these weeklong conventions. Watch the video below to see why some of us love them, while others … aren’t so fond.

As everyone knows by now, the DNC is being held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s led to some changes for the delegates who originally thought they’d be rubbing elbows in Milwaukee right now.

Election lawyer Adam Bonin, a member of the Credentials Committee from Pennsylvania, told me, “Basically everything has changed.” For one thing, all the usual meetings and events are being held via teleconference. The Credentials Committee met remotely earlier this month and has already wrapped up its business, while the Pennsylvania delegation is holding a two-hour breakfast every morning on Zoom in lieu of its usual breakfast reception. As usual, party dignitaries like Gov. Tom Wolf, Sen. Bob Casey and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez addressed the breakfast — it’s just that Bonin has to watch it “sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of tea and an English muffin.”

But while party business can be conducted virtually, Bonin said the biggest casualties of the remote convention are all the unscheduled social interactions. “It’s the ability to be around all of these Democratic leaders and activists from across the state and across the country … building those connections and relationships,” he said. “It is meaningful. Politics is a people business.”

But Bonin said there was one silver lining: Being able to go right to bed after the convention ends for the day. “What people don’t often talk about is how tiring those days can be and how little sleep you get,” he said. “Driving an hour and a half each way [between the hotel and the convention site] — that would’ve been a different experience.”

Tonight, bizarrely, is the first time we’ve live blogged anything since the early days of the pandemic, when we started working from home five months ago. The last time we were all “together” (whatever that means now) was March 17 for the Arizona, Florida and Illinois primaries. The last debate we saw was March 15 between Sanders and the now-presumptive nominee. Oh, and six months ago, Michael Bloomberg was still running for president. 🙃

One of the big questions I have about this year’s conventions is how many people will watch. The conventions are seriously stripped down because of the pandemic (most obviously, they are happening virtually rather than inside a lavishly decorated convention hall), but the home viewer’s experience might be largely the same: Major TV networks like ABC are giving the convention one hour of prime time coverage per night, same as in 2016. (FiveThirtyEight is owned by ABC.)

Still, the lack of spectacle might discourage people from tuning in this year. Then again, the fact that many people have fewer social plans might spur them to watch the proceedings out of sheer boredom. In recent elections, the DNC got about 25 million viewers on nights the nominee didn’t speak, so that will be the benchmark to watch.

One caveat: TV ratings don’t include viewers who watch the convention online, and streaming is obviously becoming increasingly popular. So if the ratings drop, that could be another reason why.

As we all know, the convention is taking place on the interwebs instead of Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum as originally planned, thanks to the pandemic. Having an indoor space packed with thousands of people screaming and yelling excitedly is the last thing any city needs right now, but how is Milwaukee faring with the pandemic otherwise?

Milwaukee saw its first case of the coronavirus back in March but its big surge didn’t hit till later in the spring. At the peak in mid-May, the city saw an average of 200 new cases per day. This was nearly matched during a second wave in July, but now case numbers have since dipped significantly. As of Monday, the seven-day rolling average for new daily cases was just over 50.

And that may be thanks to several measures the city has taken to try to curb the spread, including passing a mask ordinance. Currently, the city is in “phase 4.1” of its reopening plan, which started at the beginning of the month, allowing schools to open at 50 percent capacity if they meet certain criteria, and allowing indoor gyms to operate under similar capacity limits. Bars and restaurants have been open since June with varying capacity limits, as the department of health reevaluates the stages every week.

It’s far from back to normal, but like many cities across the country, Milwaukee is maintaining “the new normal” for now.

Tonight kicks off the first night of the Democratic National Convention, and even though this isn’t FiveThirtyEight’s first convention rodeo … it kind of is.

That’s because this year’s event is an exclusively remote affair in a concession to the continued danger the coronavirus pandemic poses. But fear not, the convention will, in some ways, proceed as it always has for those following along at home. That is, there will still be speeches, live entertainment — reportedly even a balloon drop — and, of course, our live blog.

Democrats start the week with a special emphasis on the political diversity of the party with speakers ranging from Republican John Kasich (the former Ohio governor and 2016 GOP presidential contender) to Sen. Bernie Sanders (former 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential contender). Former first lady Michelle Obama will deliver the keynote address. And the schedule, from what we’ve seen, appears to be jam-packed.

We’ll be reacting and following along in real time, including debating some of the major themes of the convention, like what are the most meaningful dividing lines in the party. And maybe we’ll get into a heated exchange or two on whether conventions matter at all.

If you’ve got a question or idle fancy, hit us up at @538politics! And be sure to watch along at ABC News Live!