Thanks, all. See you Tuesday.
Nick ConfessoreReporter
FIRST NIGHT OF THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIA ON MONDAY, JULY 25TH, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
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First Lady Michelle Obama gave strong speech to support Hillary Clinton
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VietPress USA (July 25th, 2016): VietPress USA follows the live from Democratic Convention tonight for the opening at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The following are comments from Press and Media at this first night of DNC Convention (Starting from the bottom):
Thanks for reading along with us. We’ll see you tomorrow night.
That’s a wrap. Still some “We want Bernie!” chants as he leaves.
Thirty-minute speech. “Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president, and I am proud to stand with her tonight,” Sanders says.
Comparatively tepid reaction in the hall when Sanders talks about Clinton as a path-blazing first lady.
And this: “I am going to do all I can to make that happen.”
Sanders, leaving no doubt: “Our job now is to see that platform implemented by a Democratic Senate, a Democratic House and a Hillary Clinton presidency.”
“No T.P.P.!” chants in the hall.
Sanders tells his supporters, essentially, that it’s all good: “It is no secret that Hillary Clinton and I disagree on a number of issues. That’s what this campaign has been about. That’s what democracy is about.”
Sanders: “While Donald Trump is busy insulting one group after another, Hillary Clinton understands that our diversity is one of our greatest strengths.”
By the way, at this point, do we agree that this is more than a perfunctory Clinton endorsement?
Yes, Adam, we do.
Also, Maggie, whether they would ever vote for Trump. I think we can assume most of that segment of voters won’t.
A good point, Maggie.
Except, I do wonder if people who were Bernie supporters who could never vote for Hillary were ever actually available to her in the first place.
And so I wonder if the way Sanders is doing it will work.
Sanders is making a direct argument to his supporters not to listen to Trump’s appeals to them. On health care, he says Trump is “same old, same old Republican contempt for working families.”
I am not sure the Bernie or Bust argument is based on a completely dispassionate assessment of policy outcomes. It has a lot to do with how you feel.
The case against it is based a lot on a sense of disenfranchisement (justified or not) and a kind of rhetorical raising the stakes that pretends there is no difference between Clinton or Trump.
The case for Sanders voters to support Clinton is not very hard to make.
Adam, I wonder about your first point.
Do we think he’ll directly address: 1) D.N.C. emails 2) choice of Kaine 3) his whole criticism of her as part of the corrupt system?
Again, conventional convention versus a non-conventional one: When you put a vanquished opponent on the stage, this is what he/she does: endorses you and makes the case for voting for you. Otherwise, you don’t put them on the stage. A reminder of how “Twilight Zone” the Cruz moment was.
I’m guessing this Sanders speech, which makes a pretty meticulous case for supporting Clinton over Trump, Supreme Court being key, will ultimately move some of his votes.
And what the Clinton people and Democrats who support her are most focused on.
Sanders makes the same argument Trump often makes here: “If you don’t believe this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate.”
This part, where Sanders is urging people not to sit out the race, is significant.
Correct, Alan. Because they oppose Trump.
Big boos for the Koch brothers who, if I am correct, are staying out of the presidential race this year.
But Maggie, those lines are all that matter, right? And also, he is making a coherent case for Clinton, right? Even if it is a case based on comparison.
I’m thinking Donald Trump is watching this and saying, “Why couldn’t Cruz do this?”
And a passable endorsement stuck in.
Guys, the reality is that Sanders is basically giving the speech he always gives. With a few lines tweaked.
Our Upshot colleague Neil Irwin says on Twitter that the networks are still carrying this speech.
A crowd of “We Want Bernie!” is building to our left in the press area.
Sanders: “SHE understands that we must raise the minimum wage to a living wage.”
By handing out all of these Bernie signs to everyone, it makes it seem like the whole audience is pleased with his endorsement of Clinton.
Nick, it really does, and clearly by design. Maybe that is the only way hard-core Bernie supporters will buy it.
And Trump tweets that it is “sad” to see Sanders “abandon his revolution.”
It sounds almost clinical.
The Moment.
The endorsement: “By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that — based on her ideas and her leadership — Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close.”
The applause is pretty overwhelming when Sanders goes to supporting Clinton.
This is the anti-Trump portion of the speech. He is hitting Trump for fomenting hate.
That’s what I was thinking, Nick. I’ve seen him at a few rallies, and so far it seems pretty familiar. I think we are pivoting into the Clinton part of the speech.
Sanders has been speaking for 14 minutes now, with only one passing mention of the nominee.
Sander is praising Obama quite a bit, and they haven’t exactly had a great relationship.
As Bernie Sanders has his big moment of the convention, The Times took a look back the effect he has had on popular culture since becoming a presidential candidate.
How Bernie Sanders Left His Mark on Pop Culture
Making Hillary Clinton sweat through the end of the Democratic primary season was unlikely enough. But how did a septuagenarian socialist senator become something of a cultural (and pop cultural) phenomenon? Here are some of the ways in which that senator, Bernie Sanders, who is scheduled to speak on Monday at the Democratic National Convention, has left his mark beyond politics.
The New York Times
So far we are getting a pretty typical Sanders stump speech, Adam. Not hard to chant along.
The crowd is chanting along to sections of the speech.
Sanders: “This election is about ending the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality in America.”
Man, can you imagine the networks dumping this now?
I am pretty sure Sanders just attacked the media for thinking fund-raising is an important issue, when he has spent much of the campaign bragging on his unique (and legitimately ground-breaking) fund-raising.
We’re now about two or three minutes from the end of the usual prime-time coverage window. Will he get to the endorsement of Clinton before the cameras go dark? Or will the networks stay with him?
Agreed, Maggie. But on the Ted Cruz scale of things, not so bad.
I’m not sure that that roll-call encouragement was what the Clinton folks were looking for.
“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process,” Sanders says. “I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am.”
This speech by Sanders is very much a valedictory. A review of his victories and achievements — and, yet, also sort of mini-nomination speech.
Super big cheer when he says he looks forward to votes during roll call.
Sanders: “And delegates: Thank you for being here, and for all the work you’ve done. I look forward to your votes during the roll call on Tuesday night.”
This moment is going to play out a lot like his endorsement of Clinton in New Hampshire a few weeks ago. She stood there while he talked about himself as if he’d won, and then he endorsed her.
Twenty-seven dollars! A crowd chant-along. It’s like a Springsteen concert!
Sanders: “Let me begin by thanking the hundreds of thousands of Americans who actively participated in our campaign as volunteers.”
He seems really touched by this.
The two people who were scoffed at early on — and I admit to having been a scoffer, in the case of both Sanders and Trump — upended the 2016 race in ways that were not expected.
Nick, I had the exact same sensation.
And still going!
Quite an ovation. A nice moment for Sanders.
I’m having a bit of that feeling now, to think of where Sanders started, and how close he came to being the nominee, and how powerful a figure he is in American politics now.
Folks, we were all struck when Trump came onstage last week with a sense of unreality.
Sanders seems to have the text of his speech in his hands.
Made by his adviser Tad Devine.
Probably the best ad of the cycle.
The stadium is a sea of blue Bernie signs now.
I should be clear on those 20 minutes I’m talking about the crowd reaction; I’m sure they have seen the same advance text we have.
I’m guessing the next 20 minutes are going to be the whitest-knuckle 20 minutes for the Clinton war room.
Ellison is also the first Muslim to be elected to Congress.
Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota is onstage introducing Bernie Sanders.
The Bernie signs are completely sanctioned. It looks like they are being handed out by the Clinton floor whips.
We’ve got a story that just went up by Michael Shear, a White House correspondent, that looks into the relationship between Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Michelle Obama Joins Forces With Her Predecessor (and Former Adversary)
Mrs. Obama began a tradition of attending the State Department’s International Women of Courage Awards ceremony each year while Mrs. Clinton was the secretary. In 2010, Mrs. Obama tripped over her words as she thanked “my dear friend, Senator - Secretary Clinton.” The crowd laughed as Mrs.
The New York Times
The “Bernie” signs are being wielded right now.
Warren, I have to say, is also reminding the crowd why ultimately she would not have been a great presidential candidate. Because in reality, she was not a great Senate candidate.
“We are with her,” she says as a refrain.
Adam, I’m also struck by how many pieces of policy have been discussed tonight, especially in contrast to the opening night of the R.N.C., which was largely about Benghazi and “lock her up.”
Warren: “I’ve got news for Donald Trump, the American people are not falling for it. We’ve seen this kind of ugliness before.”
I completely agree. I do think it will be a more classic combination of attack and positive vision/agenda.
I think there’s something to that, Adam. Although I do think that Clinton has learned this cycle that in order for her attacks to break through, she has to do it herself.
I wonder if Warren’s speech takes some of the weight off Clinton in terms of how much time she spends attacking Trump on Thursday.
Warren on Trump and Pence: “He even picked a vice president famous for trying to make it legal to openly discriminate against gays and lesbians.”
Warren really seems to enjoy this.
“Trump’s entire campaign is just one more late-night Trump infomercial,” she says.
Warren is really hitting Trump on lack of specificity of his plans.
This is a speech really directed at one audience: the national television audience. Scathing attack on Trump; it’s the bookend to Obama’s positive speech.
“Other than talking about building a stupid wall which will never get built, did you hear any actual ideas?” Warren asks.
Republicans really haven’t, either. What we saw in his Cleveland speech was something new.
I also don’t think that Democrats have talked about the state of the country in the same negative terms that Trump has used.
Back to Trump, Warren says: “What kind of a man roots for an economic crash that cost millions of people their jobs?”
A warning from Warren: “To Republicans in Congress who said no, this November, the American people are coming for you.”
To some extent, for sure, Nick. But add one more important thing for Dems, which is the belief that government should — can — do good. Whether it’s health care or Wall Street regulation.
A CNN reporter tweets that the chant we heard briefly during the first part of Warren’s speech was: “We trusted you! We trusted you.”
Warren: “The system is rigged.”
These roles have been flipped.
Adam, you’re the convention veteran here. But I am struck at how Trump has captured themes that were often the focus of Democratic politics — the critique of the country and how to improve it — while Democrats tonight are sounding the notes that we more often hear as the basis of Republican politics: The greatness of the country and the opportunity it offers to all.
Warren: “Here’s the thing, America isn’t going broke.”
Warren is normally a barnburner in speeches lately, but Michelle Obama will be a hard act to follow.
Trump only cares about himself “every minute of every day.” Seems a little harsh!
Warren on Trump: “A man who has never sacrificed anything for anyone.”
I expect this to be a scathing rebuke of Trump.
Nice introduction for Warren. Here she is.
I’ve heard from Republicans in the last five minutes that Michelle Obama’s speech surpassed anything out of Cleveland.
Strongest pro-Clinton speech of the convention was delivered by the wife of the guy who beat her last time.
Bet some Democrats are thinking, “We should just drop the balloons and call it a convention.”
Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts is up.
It’s also such a contrast to how sour the message was out of the Republican National Convention last week.
That speech is going to top almost everything else people in this hall will hear this week.
Huge applause as she waves goodbye and leaves the stage. The crowd is fired up.
And Nick, I agree: Bring down the balloons now and just end it.
I believe no direct mention of Sanders, right?
This is about as strong a rallying cry as the Democratic Party is going to get.
Her speech is a rebuke to Trump on many levels. If I can wake up every morning in a house built by slaves, and believe in American greatness, she is saying, where do you get off telling us we’re losers?
Now railing against America’s greatness is a virtue.
I’m reminded that in 2008, Michelle Obama took a lot of criticism for saying it was the first time in her adult life she was proud of her country.
I guess I can’t make any plagiarism jokes, right, Maggie? Or, wait, I might have just done that.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great,” she says. “This, right now, is the greatest country on earth.”
In a politically optimal world, the night would end when she leaves the stage.
This is a powerful speech, maybe one of the best speeches of the cycle.
“Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States,” she says.
“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” Mrs. Obama says.
It is amazing to think that Obama is a political spouse who entered the arena reluctantly over the last eight years. No one tonight has given a more effective and moving political speech.
You feel like she gave a lot of thought what she wanted to say — studying Clinton’s history, background. I wonder how close they are?
Michelle Obama says that Clinton has the “guts and the grace” to crack the glass ceiling.
Adam, I agree. It’s something that I don’t think we would have heard this much about in 2008.
Trump, meanwhile, is tweeting that if Booker is the future of the Democrats, “then they have no future! I know more about Cory than he knows about himself.”
It’s really interesting to hear Michelle talking about another woman/mother struggling with being in the political spotlight in this country. Really fascinating.
Obama takes another shot at Trump, saying life cannot be boiled down to 140 characters. And she calls him thin-skinned, which he hates.
Her line about Clinton not getting “angry or disillusioned” by her loss seemed clearly pointed toward the Bernie booers in the crowd.
“What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure,” she says.
Alan — I completely agree with you. I’ve never heard her make this kind of speech. This is no pro forma endorsement. This is really interesting.
“There were plenty of moments where Hillary Clinton could have decided that this work was too hard,” she says.
She is describing Clinton as a lifelong public servant.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Michelle Obama speak at length about Hillary Clinton like this before.
Michelle Obama is also speaking to a vulnerability of Clinton’s, that she is perceived as being power hungry.
Also, I’ve always been fascinated by — and I think I’m not alone — what it is like raising children in the White House, or when you are running for president. It’s compelling stuff.
Obama’s presentation is: It’s been hard, and we’ve tried to be good parents.
Maggie, I think the word you are looking for is “vulnerability.” The Trump presentation was: My dad is awesome, unstoppable, the best.
I’d like to point out that that kind of human story that we just heard Michelle Obama tell about her daughters involved the kind of detail that was really almost entirely lacking at the Republican National Convention when people described Trump.
“In this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of our lives,” she says.
It was Clinton’s signature line that cycle.
And her telling the crowd at the low-dollar fundraiser that she and her husband weren’t “in it to win it,” and she added, “We’re not about that.”
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