Big Dog and the Mothers

We got a tender love story to send us off to bed.

He was charming and steely-eyed, and owned the arena as he told his wife’s story in personal terms, from their courtship through to her time as secretary of State. As Hillary Clinton’s husband for the past 40 years, the popular ex-president was her ultimate character witness, portraying her as hard-working, persistent, and caring.

She is "the best darn change-maker I've ever met in my entire life,” he said.

*"Wave "change-maker" signs*

I suppose I'm just too jaded to be inspired any more by pep rallies.  Here's the least cynical POV I could find.

The bigger challenge for Mr. Clinton may in fact be his record as president – a record that Mrs. Clinton also owns to some degree, for better or worse. The Democratic Party no longer has the centrist cast that Mr. Clinton helped to shape in the 1980s and ‘90s, when balancing the budget and moving people off welfare were the name of the game. The party is no longer even Mr. Obama’s, in its new leftward tilt.

On issue after issue, Mr. Clinton has become “explainer in chief” for his own record. The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which Clinton implemented, is now under pressure from both Sanders and Donald Trump supporters.

Clinton has expressed regret for signing the 1994 crime bill, which led to mass incarcerations, particularly of minorities. He has also disavowed the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise that kept gays in the military closeted.

The mere fact that the Clintons have to explain or refute old policies points to a deeper problem: that the Clintons are figures of the past in an election where voters are demanding change. Though Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee, is of the same vintage as the Clintons, he’s an outsider. The Clintons are the ultimate political insiders.

And they form the nucleus of a potential political dynasty. Daughter Chelsea, who will introduce her mother on Thursday before her big acceptance speech, says she too may run for office someday. The failure of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the Republican primaries signaled, in part, a rejection of dynastic politics in America.

Here in Philadelphia, alive with politically engaged voters on both sides of the Democratic divide, the idea of politics as a family business gets mixed reactions.

Did you laugh at "mixed reactions"?  Outside the hall there was pretty much one reaction -- the opposite of the one inside.  I'll let the pictures (and one cartoon) do the talking.

The Mothers of the Movement segment was very emotional, and an appropriate call for action.  But if Obama can't do anything about police abuse other than say "this has to stop", then I don't know why anyone would expect Hillary Clinton to be more effective.

During the roll call, Bernie cried when his brother Larry, a delegate, announced his states' votes.  It was an emotional moment, but Sanders managed to ruin that for his supporters, too.

So as MOMocrat Mike wrote: "We wanted a revolution, but all I got was this lousy sign."

Such is the nature of lost opportunities.  Some will take their clothespins and pinch their nostrils,  some will pick up the pieces and move on, some will go home and cry into their pillow.

The revolution will continue, but how far it goes and how hot it burns is a question we're still waiting to learn the answer to.

Day 3 sets up with Obama and Biden passing the torch, and Kaine taking the relay handoff.  I'll look for reports that demonstrate how well the Berners are receiving or rejecting that message.

I shouldn't have to look too hard.