I wish the election was next week, while the glow of the Democratic National Convention remains. So much could happen, including a couple of debates, before November 5th.
Kudos to the staff, producers, and everyone else involved in doing the about face, the changing of the DNC from a Biden party to a Harris party. Building the airplane while flying it, and doing a reasonably good job. I can almost forgive the overly long first night (and the cutting of James Taylor’s performance) and the network scheduling hash every night.
The convention was all sunshine and roses, with grand aspirations, intentions, and promises. Trouble is, for most that to come about, the Dems will need control of Congress. Kamala can’t do all those things by herself.
I know more about Kamala now than I did before the convention, and much of it gives me hope. But I’ll have to do some research to learn what she has done as vice president. All I really remember is throwing up my hands after that early interview about the border. I pretty much ignored her after that.
I do get the impression that although I didn’t think much of her as vice president, she apparently was a good, widely known, well respected attorney general. And that strikes me as very important in someone who must support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke. In ways I can’t really explain, I can see why Kamala didn’t pick him as her running mate. He seemed a bit prickly, a bit sharp around the edges. Not as “guy next door” as Walz. Whether that decision was politically smart, I can’t say.
Gov. Tim Walz seems like a very nice, well liked, middle American guy. Soldier, coach, teacher, governor. Yet I can’t picture him as someone who can, in an emergency, successfully assume the role of president.
I’m a sentimental, patriotic old woman and was cheered by all the expressed support for our troops and their families. My dad was in the Army and my older brother was in the Air Force. My grandson is currently in the Marines.
I hadn’t seen Gabby Giffords in many years and she’s made remarkable progress. Heartwarming.
How I loved seeing the Obamas again. So smart, so well spoken. They were — and continue to be — such great representatives of America.
So many speakers. Most I didn’t know and didn’t know why they were invited to speak. Important Democrats, no doubt. But it was tough to find the few I would have listened to, and I missed more than one. Bernie Sanders, for example. Sorry I missed him. And a couple from Colorado. I’d have listened to them.
I knew Adam Kinzinger was going to speak and I did see him. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m an admirer. It’s got to be rare for a Republican to speak at a Democratic convention.
I was happy to see Kamala wearing black. Or was it a very dark blue? I hate it when she wears brown. It makes her look drab and tired.
The segment about school shootings had me in tears all over again. I just don’t have any words left for my feelings about the gun issue.
Tim Walz’s resting face is so sad. He looks like he’s in tears. But when he smiles, it’s ear to ear.
Wow, that was a lot of balloons! The announcer said there were 100,000 and that they were only red, white, and blue — specified by Kamala — unlike at the RNC where Trump included gold balloons. I peeked at an RNC video and sure enough, there were gold ones in there at the end. Ick. Like everything else he touches.
The abortion issue is HUGE and got a lot of attention at this convention. Rightfully so. The women’s vote is critical. Sure, it might have been a thing back when Hillary was running, but I wasn’t buying it then. I resented the implication that I should vote for her just because we are both women. But this year … you’d better believe that being a woman and voting for a woman is a Very Big Deal. (Acknowledging, of course, that Kamala will need the support of Congress to get anything done.)
The Dems are on a roll and hopefully undecided voters are also riding a high right now. I wish Election Day was a lot closer. I’d have voted for Donald Duck before voting for Donald Trump. That’s still true, but DD isn’t running now. Nor is Joe Biden. Kamala is.
Everybody is fired up and ready to go. Now let’s get this done. “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!”
______________
Banner photo: Balloon drop at the DNC. (Photo: AP photo/Matt Rourke)
I never thought that I would get teary eyed during a political convention, but there I was, fighting tears more than once. I thought that I saw Bernie speak, but maybe that was at an earlier event. Anyway, this was huge: a clear presentation of issues that absolutely must be addressed in a positive, productive way. The gun violence in our nation is absolutely unacceptable and something has to be done about it. Climate change is real, and the longer we wait to take action the greater the threat to our national security will be as communities are stressed and waves of migrants arrive trying to escape unlivable homelands. The threat to the nation from the right cannot be overstated. No more elections, US troops used against American citizens on homeland soil, loss of rights, women forced into second class citizen status, the imposition of religion onto the public schools… WE HAVE TO WIN BIG!!!!! because we need control of congress to enact guardrails and to protect us from these people who have forgotten how to care about their neighbors.
I have been thinking so much about all the issues that are in play here that I’m thinking about how to post one little thing every day until the election. I grew up in the 50s, and I remember clearly what it was like. Women didn’t even drive a lot of the time, and women drivers were openly mocked and disparaged! All the doctors were men, and your husband had control over health care decisions. I remember women not being told their diagnosis because the husband decided they shouldn’t know. It just goes on and on… I’m sure you remember, too. I am not going back!
I was a high school teacher. It is an amazing growth experience for people who become successful ones: they develop clear boundaries and understandings of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. They have great bullsh*t detectors, and they never walk away from a fight in the hallway because they know that it is their job to put a stop to what is happening right now!! They develop insights into human behavior that most people don’t because they deal with hundreds of teenagers. They enforce good behavior in the classroom (no bullying!!) and learn to do the right thing. No one goes into teaching for the money; they are driven by a desire to serve. I kind of think that Walz is up to the task.
Lots of tears for me, always an emotional person. Sad, angry, excited, hopeful, joyful. Mostly I think it was just so many good people rising to an urgent cause and giving me hope that we may not fall into the abyss after all. Trump and Project 2025 are just nightmarish.
Teachers are saints, for the most part. Thank you for all you did! I imagine Walz was beloved by his students. And we all have special teachers we remember all our lives.
Global warming … I have dreams of the sea rising and washing away those billionaires’ beach houses (including Mar-a-Lago!). When the water is up to their knees, maybe they’ll get the picture. But we musn’t let it get that far. My grandkids need a habitable planet.
I shouldn’t even get started on the abortion thing. I marched for women’s rights in Oklahoma City, several times. My dad, an ob-gyn, was a co-founder of Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma. He and his partner believed that all women should have access to decent medical care and they served the underprivileged, both the moms and their families if that was the need. That in a bright Red State we called the buckle on the Bible belt. My granddaughter flew off to college yesterday and she deserves, at the very least, the same medical care I had access to. I don’t know how the Supreme Court will ever get fixed, but we can start with Congress and some new laws … if only people realize that a Dem president isn’t enough. They must put more Dems in Congress, too.
I have been just “hair on fire” frightened for a long time about Project 2025 and all of the implications of the policies, not to mention the outright statements in the document. Kudos to your dad!! My mom was a red cross nurse who worked in polio epidemics; I’ve been just horrified the push-back against public health after being raised by a mother who preached infection control and got us every vaccine available. My mother also had strong feelings about the need for abortions because, in her words, too many women were dying. I remember that my mom was particularly impacted by a young mother with diabetes who died because of complications caused by her pregnancy. The mother and her baby were lost, and the toddler at home also lost her mother. A horror show that could have been avoided if abortion was legal. Just recently my cardiologist mentioned that people with my diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension need an abortion if their contraception fails because the risk is too high. What will happen to these women if contraceptives become unavailable, and abortions are outlawed? Already it is hard to get one of my drugs and my doctor and I were speculating whether it would be available if Trump gets into office. We absolutely need to make sure that women have access to necessary health care!!
I am so encouraged by the flood of people who are now speaking out. About time!
We weren’t alone in our tears. I found this in the NY Times:
Frank Bruni, contributing Opinion writer I wept — no, I bawled — as I listened to the teacher from Sandy Hook, the mother from Uvalde and the others who’d witnessed and lost loved ones to gun violence. That was absolutely gutting. And utterly necessary.
I watched quite a lot of it – largely via YouTube. I LOVED Tim Walz’s speech, because he was so obviously 100% into everything he said: he strikes me as a genuine man.
Because I would kill almost anyone to shake Obama’s hand, I cried when I saw and heard him. I remember those wonderful 8 years as you lot were led by a man of intelligence, integrity, wit, personality and charm plus plus … and I recall Stephen Cobert telling his audience soon after Barack was no longer President “He’s not coming back,” and everyone going deathly silent.
I feel the same way about Obama. Except I’m sure I would faint before I could shake his hand. I remember sitting here blinded by tears the night he was elected. It all seems like a dream now … and then there he was speaking again! I was SO excited to see him. And Michelle, too.
Walz does seem very genuine, very huggable. I’m sure his students and players thought he was great. (I do have to keep reminding myself that he and Kamala are the same age.)
Can’t say I’m voting for Harris as much as I’m voting against the orange one. She had a very promising career as a senator and now is gambling that more people dislike the other more than her. She could have been a major force in the senate for decades, but now might only get a year or two in the limelight.
What I’ve learned about her so far tells me that she’s quite a bit farther left than I am. But like you I’m voting against the orange one. I know zero about what she did in the Senate so don’t know what I might have missed, but what you say makes sense. If she’s elected, she’ll be president for 4 years and after that, who knows. Do most former presidents end up retiring? I’ll have to research that.
I can’t think of many ex-presidents that can really do anything anymore except retire, write, lecture, or do non-profit work. Basically it’s the end of their political careers.
That’s about right. She’ll be 63 at the end of a term as president. A bit young to be ending her career. But what politician would pass up a chance to be president?
I’m all in
As I noted above, I’d be all in for Donald Duck if he were Trump’s opposition.
<3 quack!)
LOL!
I Think Kamala Harris will be the 47th president of the United States
Let us all hope so!!! And vote accordingly.