Making history in Philadelphia
On Thursday night in Philadelphia, history was made just blocks away from where the seeds of these United States, the seeds of revolution, began. The Democratic Party finally, officially, nominated this country’s first woman presidential candidate for a major party.
It is my fervent hope that this country will now elect its first Madame President.
After last week’s Republican National Convention – aka The Trump Show – Democrats had their chance to highlight their own candidate for president, and boy did they ever.
Things didn’t start off so well; there were fireworks before the festivities began. Julian Assange and WikiLeaks dropped emails pilfered from the party’s server – quite possibly hacked by Russian operatives – some of which included a few choice and pithy comments by high-level DNC officials about Sen. Bernie Sanders.
This, of course, understandably upset both the senator and his supporters. And before the gavel ever dropped, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was out of her largely thankless, no-win job as chair of the party. It had to happen. …
What Assange’s data dump didn’t prove, though, was that anyone at the DNC was actually conspiring to defeat Bernie. It only confirmed that Bernie’s constant bellyaching about the leadership of a party he wasn’t even a member of made many of those leaders angry. Also understandable, I might add.
From there, the DNC Convention only had one way to go, and that was up. And up, up, up they soared.
Day one saw First Lady Michelle Obama make an elegant case in support of Secretary Clinton. Her speech was beautifully crafted and passionately spoken with the conviction of a mom worried about her own children and yours.
The night ended with Sen. Sanders, who forcefully made his case against Trump and threw his weight behind Clinton in a way that was not only necessary, but many people feared would not happen.
Sanders rightfully took credit for forcing the party’s most progressive platform ever and pointed out what was painfully obvious to most, but abhorred by many of his own supporters, saying: “Our job now is to see that platform implemented by a Democratic Senate, a Democratic House and a Hillary Clinton presidency!”
In those few moments of humility and graciousness, Sanders transformed himself from a hero for many yet a villain to many more into a hero for all Democrats.
On Day 2, all roads led to the most popular living ex-president in our country, Hillary’s husband, Bill, and the former president didn’t disappoint. In one of his classic “talks” he turned an arena of thousands into an intimate gathering of friends.
He shared a tale of love, its birth and evolution, through the good times and, yes, the bad, and humanized Hillary Clinton in a way almost no one else possibly could.
Day 3 soared even higher, seeing party heavyweights Joe Biden and Barack Obama bookending Hillary’s new running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine. By all accounts, Kaine is a decent man, yet I think it is fair to say that he over-performed the expectations of just about everyone who didn’t know him personally.
But clearly Hillary knows and likes Kaine, a vice president who will serve his boss and our country with class, passion and an everyman spirit, just like Fightin’ Joe Biden!
Yet it was Obama who soared the highest on Wednesday, sharing his insights into Hillary, his one-time foe turned trusted confidant turned dear friend, all couched within a vision of loving America, in stark contrast to last week’s Trump convention, which was all about loving Trump.
As with Bill Clinton on Tuesday and many other speakers throughout the week, Chelsea Clinton’s warm and touching introduction of her mother on the final night directly attacked the caricature Republicans have painted over these last 35 or so years of Hillary’s very public life.
Perhaps the more rational voters in the electorate will open their minds to the possibility that she isn’t “Killary Clinton” after all, one of the more disgusting names some wing nuts on the fringe of the fringe of the far right have used.
Then Hillary finally took to the stage to make history, describing a vision for America where love trumps hate.
For a candidate often derided for being too wonkish and dispassionate, her speech talked about a changing America in a way that is positive and not frightening, and it was greeted warmly in the arena and at home as well, if social media and instant polling are any indication.
She made a thematic appeal to those still-available voters in my beloved Rational Center, but policy-wise, directed her appeal to progressives. And like her running mate the night before, she exceeded most expectations.
Everyone knows that Clinton is sturdy and steely, fierce and strong, but her speech revealed why she’s the correct person with the proper experience at the right moment in history.
Love her or not, she’s already proven over nearly four decades that she’s a fighter devoted to public service, but on this night she demonstrated a willingness to fight the good fight for all Americans. She showed her heart.
Already-forgotten former party Chairwoman Debbie WassermanSchultz deserves credit for crafting a beautifully produced event that stood in stark contrast to the Republican Convention, which was very Gotham City, dark and dangerous, with Trump as Batman coming to save everyone.
As Hillary Clinton made plain, “There is no other Donald Trump. This is it.”
And from this point forward, the tests will only get harder. The three presidential debates will provide an opportunity for each candidate to display his or her mastery of the issues, and while I predict Hillary will outshine him, I expect that Trump will be Trump, and no one really knows when that act will wear thin. Or if it ever will. Voters now have 100 dayss left to judge the character of these two nominees, and their decision will test the character of the nation. Will they choose the light or the darkness?
My vote will be going to the first major-party-backed woman to ever run for president.
John Zaring, a Santa Clarita Valley resident since 2000, is a founding board member of the William S. Hart Union High School District’s WiSH Education Foundation and serves on its District Advisory Council.