Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Viewers adjust to convention’s virtual format
But some still miss festive atmosphere
BALLWIN, Mo. — Nick Zingarelli relished Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention this week, especially when the former first lady used President Donald Trump’s own words — “It is what it is” — to sum up Democrats’ disappointment in his presidency.
But the moment on the first night of the first virtual convention was bittersweet for Zingarelli. A line that good deserved a thunderous applause from a crowded convention hall, he thought.
“Not having that response — yeah, there was something that was taken away from that,” said Zingarelli, a 41-year-old lawyer from suburban St. Louis. “But it’s the best that we can do in this environment.”
In other words, it is what it is.
Many Americans who have tuned in to Democrats’ experiment in socially distanced political theater have come away with similar reactions. They believe a traditional nominating convention — a boisterous and quirky affair staged for a packed audience of hyped-up political activists — had to be sacrificed for safety and public health.
But its replacement — a mashup of homemade videos, slickly produced montages and speeches with no applause — takes some getting used to.
Millions of people still watched the Democrats’ four-day celebration of their presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
They were at home watching on TV and computer screens, or passing around clips of the highlights the day after. Some were in their cars at drivein movie-style viewing stations Democrats set up in a few states. Some have tried for a social experience by jumping on a Zoom watch party.
The new format has spawned some creative reimagining of old traditions — including a new roll call vote embraced as a success. Viewers praised the montage of clips featuring delegates announcing their states’ vote tallies from state landmarks and scenic landscapes.
Laura DeGroff Simoes, of Concord, New Hampshire, who voted in the Democratic primary but considers herself an independent, said it’s a welcome change that offered a glimpses of the places homebound Americans miss.
“There was much more diversity represented, there were different languages. I loved seeing the backdrop of where people were from,” said Simoes, who watched on TV with her husband and two sons.
But some delegates missed the in-person action.
Jackie Craig, a Minnesota delegate, watched from her home — sometimes from a closet so she wouldn’t distract the rest of the family.
A self-described “obnoxious extrovert,” she said it was a “little deflating” missing the in-person experience.
“I would have been like one of those dogs who wags its tail so hard it probably passed out,” Craig, 49, said.
Republicans also watched.
Carol Wessel Boyer, of Troy, Missouri, said doesn’t see the virtual DNC generating that sort of excitement, and doesn’t expect the Republican version will, either.
“They’re just not going to get the enthusiasm you normally pick up from a convention,” Boyer said. “It’s hard to get excited about something virtually.”
Republicans will get their shot next week.
President Donald Trump is due to give his nomination acceptance speech at the White House. But GOP convention planners have said little else little about the details of their programming or format.