# The Democratic National Convention **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 17, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158 "2016-07-17T21:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/201 "2016-07-26T03:27:37Z")
That doesn’t win votes. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/202 "2016-07-26T03:28:50Z")
So, Day 1 is in the books. Some discord out there, it was acknowledged and then moved on from. And Bernie did what he had to do, no Cruz here. So, I think in the battle of Day Ones, that was a victory for the Dems. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/203 "2016-07-26T03:29:38Z")
Well I gotta say Bernie knocked it out of the park. He did what he had to do. Frankly, I think the first night of the Democratic convention was more on the money than the entire GOP convention. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/204 "2016-07-26T03:29:42Z")
With the caveat that I didn’t see Booker’s speech, I think Michelle was the hands down winner. No one else even cam close. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/205 "2016-07-26T03:32:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > OK, didn’t hear more than a few boos after he said “Hillary”. Mission accomplished. There were a handful the first time he said it, one or two the second, and none each time after that. Bernie got the job done. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/206 "2016-07-26T03:34:00Z")
A perfectly cromulent first night, fine speeches but Jeebus did we need all the drama for the prior 24 hours? Still the networks are all seeking out the Bernsters who still feel Hillary needs to “work on them”… ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/207 "2016-07-26T03:37:14Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Ah, I see that we’re electing the President in 2024 based on one speech given in 2016. Par for the course these days I guess. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Don’t worry, **adaher** , I’m not ready to cast my vote 8 years down the line based on one speech, but we are allowed to appreciate oratory as an art form, are we not? Booker’s speech for me ran a bit long, and was arguably a bit light on content, but damn, the delivery, especially the windup, was ace. Anyone that gets Bill Clinton, who knows a thing or two about speechifying himself, pumping his fist like that must have done a half-decent job. And then Michelle came on, and hers was even better. I was glad I got to see (and hear) it. Aren’t you? > [@Kolak of Twilo](#): > > Frankly, I think the first night of the Democratic convention was more on the money than the entire GOP convention. DNC first night: heartfelt, coherent statements of policy and optimism (for the most part). RNC first night: “Be very afraid” and “Lock her up!” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/208 "2016-07-26T03:41:43Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > God is completely bored of this endless prayer. If that amount was enough to bore him, he would have incinerated the GOP convention. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/209 "2016-07-26T03:41:53Z")
Gawd, these Bernie people being interviewed (on MSNBC) are lame and stupid. Gah! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/210 "2016-07-26T03:44:12Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Oh, for fuck’s sake. > > Don’t worry, **adaher** , I’m not ready to cast my vote 8 years down the line based on one speech, but we are allowed to appreciate oratory as an art form, are we not? Booker’s speech for me ran a bit long, and was arguably a bit light on content, but damn, the delivery, especially the windup, was ace. Anyone that gets Bill Clinton, who knows a thing or two about speechifying himself, pumping his fist like that must have done a half-decent job. I agree with that much. A good speech is a good thing at a convention. I just think that identifying Presidential prospects off speech quality is pretty dumb. Cory Booker has an actual record which makes him a bright prospect, and he would still be a bright prospect even if he’d gone up there and gone “guh.” and then walked off. Back in more substantive times, Bill Clinton totally shit the bed at the DNC, but since speeches were not as big a deal back then, it didn’t hurt him when he sought the Presidency four years later. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/211 "2016-07-26T03:47:00Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Gawd, these Bernie people being interviewed (on MSNBC) are lame and stupid. Gah! You can bet that those people are exactly what they sought out and found. People talking common sense do not make near as interesting a television spectacle. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/212 "2016-07-26T03:49:11Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > You can bet that those people are exactly what they sought out and found. People talking common sense do not make near as interesting a television spectacle. Exactly! They went looking for these dopes, and they found them. Even talking about checking with them later in the week? Why??? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/213 "2016-07-26T03:50:02Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > The Big difference of course, is that the comedian is smart as hell. Story heard was that Ben Stien, notorious righty asshole, donated money to Franken’s first campaign. Somebody asked him why and he said that Franken was the smartest man he had ever met. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/214 "2016-07-26T03:56:25Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > God is completely bored of this endless prayer. > [@running\_coach](#): > > If that amount was enough to bore him, he would have incinerated the GOP convention. I would be in the nearest Methodist church so fast! Priority prayer to my grandmother, you can stop worrying, the boy done seen the light! All it took was the holy incineration of a few thousand Republicans, thank you _Jesus!_ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/215 "2016-07-26T04:04:26Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Exactly! They went looking for these dopes, and they found them. Even talking about checking with them later in the week? Why??? Because they need to kick up ratings and in their view you need drama for that. If they reported “Mission Accomplished, Bernie’s With Her”, why stick around, they fear. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/216 "2016-07-26T04:07:33Z")
Agree about Michelle. Booker was inspiring, maybe played a bit too much to pathos but if you are going to do it like he did it, maybe you should do it. Also found a lot more substance in Dcon v Rcon, so far. I thought the speakers were far more high-profile and talented and trenchant than at Rcon. Melania wants to be Michelle, and Trump wants Bernie’s supporters, but Hillary has both of those, in Spades 🆒 If conventions actually affect election results, this one should tilt it for the Ds. So far. The Paul Simon haters have to stop. I think the uninitiated don’t understand that any live instrument, including the voice, has to be played by a human body. If you have an aged, beloved performer, their age is going to show, and it is gracious of them to be so vulnerable in public. Simon is still great. Simon gave the most humanly revealing performance of… well, I dunno, I’ve seen talented music dinosaurs before, but it really is something that Simon is effectively endorsing Hillary, at a time when musicians are in the habit of calling their lawyers the second any Republican candidate uses their recordings at a rally. Not Simon. His performance was accompanied by the performance of the pop recording They Come To America. It’s a great song, it is very much on topic to Hillary’s message of inclusiveness, I hope the administration can actually live up to all of this. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/217 "2016-07-26T04:10:28Z")
And the Democrats haven’t even broken out the big stars yet: Bill and Barack. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/218 "2016-07-26T04:16:23Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Story heard was that Ben Stien, notorious righty asshole, donated money to Franken’s first campaign. Somebody asked him why and he said that Franken was the smartest man he had ever met. [Close: > [@](#): > > Stein, an actor, writer and economist, has contributed $2,000 to Franken’s Minnesota Senate campaign. The two men have known each other for about 30 years. > > “I’m struck by what an incredibly capable, hard-working guy he is,” Stein told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “He’s a very smart liberal, he’s a thoroughgoing patriot, and I would feel better with him in the Senate.” > [@](#): > > Stein, a former speechwriter for President Nixon, has contributed thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and to GOP committees, such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee — charged with helping Republicans take over the Senate. Doesn’t the donation to Franken undercut those efforts? > > “Well, it does to a very slight extent,” Stein said. “There is some contradiction there. But not all senators are as good as Al Franken.” ]([Ben Stein Backs Al Franken For Minnesota Senate Bid | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/10/18/ben-stein-backs-al-franken-for-minnesota-senate-bid.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/219 "2016-07-26T04:17:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Pocahontas. > > Trump’s nickname for her. I have a full blood Indian great grandmother. I’d never use that to grab a spot at a prestigious college. A real native American deserves that place. Not me. That’s a lie repeated by the rightwing nuts, and nothing that Warren has ever, once, said. One of the MSNBC talking heads praised Michelle Obama’s speech and then said that we’ll probably hear it at the next Republican convention. Bernie did a great job for party unity. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/220 "2016-07-26T04:22:11Z")
On Paul Simon singing “Bridge:” It’s always been Art’s song. He shoulda sung Kodachrome. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158.md?page=12)