Observations on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention:
- You can’t beat the Democrats’ taste in music. Loved John Legend’s performance. The house band did a stand-up job on hits by Sly and the Family Stone, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin and Earth, Wind & Fire. Everyone also seemed to dance better than that other party which is more prone to, as Billy Crystal calls it in “When Harry Met Sally,” the “white man’s overbite.” (I know, I know… excluding Al Gore.)
- Nancy Pelosi set the tone of smoothing the ruffled feathers of Hillary supporters by saluting her early on in her speech (and waiting impatiently for the cheering to subside) and also giving a nod to the Bush administration’s diminishing of the “Clinton surplus” when he left office.
- Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. struck a poignant note when, in referencing the 45th anniversary Thursday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ”I Have A Dream” speech to the nomination of Barack Obama on the say day in Denver, he said “America has never rung from a higher mountain top than it does today.”
- How moving a moment it was to see Sen. Teddy Kennedy, with shorn scalp signifying the battle with cancer he faces ahead, speaking strongly and clearly to the original goals of the Democratic Party and how they still should guide it today.
- With all the talk about Sen. Kennedy being a prime mover in the fight for health care for all, I admit I felt a twinge of a sideswipe being taken at Hillary.
- I’m not a woman of color, but I was quite moved watching those in the audience who were. What an important moment this is for them. It’s startling to think that just 50 years ago, a moment such as now was considered a pipe dream, something that many thought they wouldn’t see in their lifetime. I was so happy for all of them. At the same time, I wished I could share in that sense of joy. But every time they’d flash Biden’s face across the screen, I’d think of that old boys club and that damn glass ceiling. ARGH!
- Michelle Obama’s speech was riveting, inspiring and terribly moving. When she gave a nod to Hillary, it felt more genuine than Pelosi. Her speech was all about hope and everyone’s contribution to the future of this nation. I loved her conversational tone. What a superb orator. Why isn’t SHE running for office?!!
