# 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:** 19
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/361 "2016-07-27T13:11:48Z")
Bill’s speech was not only his usual masterful self, but it was also a good rebuttal to the oft-repeated claim that Hillary has done nothing but ride his coattails her whole career. The Right likes to paint her as a former First Lady with delusions of grandeur, a carpet-bagging one-term senator from Wall Street and a failed Secretary of State who personally murdered the ambassador to Benghazi while providing state secrets to Russian email hackers. Bill did a great job of not only humanizing her as an idealistic young college student and activist, but someone who has fought for families and children and poor people her entire career. I don’t have any trouble believing she’s the smart on in the family. And I say all this as someone who has never liked her at all – I had a much more favorable opinion about her after Bill’s speech. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/362 "2016-07-27T13:17:10Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > … > Bill did a great job of not only humanizing her as an idealistic young college student and activist, but someone who has fought for families and children and poor people her entire career. I don’t have any trouble believing she’s the smart on in the family. And I say all this as someone who has never liked her at all – I had a much more favorable opinion about her after Bill’s speech. Trouble is, the Hillary Haters won’t ever see or hear this. They will rely on Trump’s filters to tell them what went on at the Democratic convention. I think they’re afraid that if they actually watched for themselves their faces would melt like that guy who peeked at the end of _Raiders of the Lost Ark._ ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/363 "2016-07-27T13:25:48Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > A couple of mundane observations about Bernie’s motion: > > 1. Doesn’t a suspension of the rules require unanimous consent? > > 2. Even if only a majority was required, couldn’t a die hard Bernie supporter have requested a division and forced the chair to take a roll call vote on the question? Even if they had, the chairman would have had the vote taken electronically (the days of every vote being a state-by-state roll call are long past us - I think 1976 was the last time there was a roll call for anything besides President or VP), and announced that the ayes prevailed without giving any specific numbers. > [@Frank](#): > > Sanders took a horrible amount of time to come around to it, but he ended it with class and grace. Good for him. A long time to end the campaign, or end the roll call vote? They have to go through every state at least once in the roll call. (The VP vote, on the other hand, and this assumes they don’t do what the Republicans do and get rid of it entirely, can go something like, “Alabama” “Alabama yields to Virginia” “Virginia” “Virginia moves to suspend the rules and have Tim Kaine nominated by acclamation.”) > [@leftfield6](#): > > Love Bill, but brevity had never been his thing. [Here is Johnny Carson introducing Clinton on _The Tonight Show_](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4464083) (at least, I think it is; I can’t access videos from where I am posting this). ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/364 "2016-07-27T13:31:27Z")
I was a bit surprised that Rachel Maddow seemed quite offended by the early part of the speech, bristling at the reference to Hillary as a “girl”. I didn’t see that as anti-feminist, I saw it more as a boy meets girl story. I agree with the comment about the states cheering their mention as being distracting. I also thought it juvenile- we know your state is there . ALL the states were there. Now shut up. I thought his speech was quite informative. She seemed to be as determined in her early years as she is now. I think a lot of people learned a lot about her and like her more as a result of it- I know I did. The hard core Trumpians won’t be moved by any of this but that isn’t important. What’s important is to re-introduce Hillary as a caring and compassionate person, and I think the mission was accomplished. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/365 "2016-07-27T13:31:42Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > A long time to end the campaign, or end the roll call vote? They have to go through every state at least once in the roll call. (The VP vote, on the other hand, and this assumes they don’t do what the Republicans do and get rid of it entirely, can go something like, “Alabama” “Alabama yields to Virginia” “Virginia” “Virginia moves to suspend the rules and have Tim Kaine nominated by acclamation.”) I could have sworn they did something similar in 2008 with the presidential nomination rather than running through all the states. I remember Clinton early on asking for a voice vote after it was yielded to her. But that was also eight years ago and my memory might be faulty. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/366 "2016-07-27T14:24:25Z")
That was quite the fantastic speech! I know some people thought it was too long, but Bill was being a raconteur, telling the story of Hillary, all the work she has done, and their courtship and marriage. As said by **Skammer** , it was a masterful counterpoint to the whole “What has she really done” thing I’ve seen here and there. And the whole ‘cartoon’ Hillary vs. ‘real’ Hillary thing was just fantastic. Probably the best “spouse speech” (which it was supposed to be) that I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/367 "2016-07-27T14:33:52Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I was a bit surprised that Rachel Maddow seemed quite offended by the early part of the speech, bristling at the reference to Hillary as a “girl”. I didn’t see that as anti-feminist, I saw it more as a boy meets girl story. I think Maddow’s problem with the speech was the “boy meets girl, girl puts her own political aspirations on hold for boy’s political career.” It was meant to appeal to married white women, and I thought it did a good job of humanizing Hillary. But I can also see how younger women would see it as anti-feminist - especially given Bill’s infidelities. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/368 "2016-07-27T14:34:34Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Bill’s speech was not only his usual masterful self, but it was also a good rebuttal to the oft-repeated claim that Hillary has done nothing but ride his coattails her whole career. The Right likes to paint her as a former First Lady with delusions of grandeur, a carpet-bagging one-term senator from Wall Street and a failed Secretary of State who personally murdered the ambassador to Benghazi while providing state secrets to Russian email hackers. > > Bill did a great job of not only humanizing her as an idealistic young college student and activist, but someone who has fought for families and children and poor people her entire career. I don’t have any trouble believing she’s the smart on in the family. And I say all this as someone who has never liked her at all – I had a much more favorable opinion about her after Bill’s speech. Totally agree. I was a somewhat reluctant Hillary supporter until I saw Bill’s speech, but I went to bed last night thinking I should buy an I’m With Her t-shirt. I’ll add that I wasn’t crazy about the Change Maker tagline, but I’m hard put to come up with a better two-word phrase. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/369 "2016-07-27T14:35:07Z")
Thank you, That Don Guy, for posting that audio clip of Carson introducing Bill Clinton back in '88. I’d not only never heard that, but I’d never heard of it. Laughed my rear off. Clinton himself has attributed the over-length of that '88 speech to him not factoring in applause time and the fact that some of his applause lines generated longer reactions than he had factored in. I did see him damp down applause last night, saying words to the effect of “We have to keep on schedule.” I actually remember seeing Bill Clinton on TV when he spoke at the Democratic Convention in 1980. They cut away from him, but I had a real, “Wow, who is this guy?” moment. (Would love to see that speech in its’ entirety or at least read a transcript.) The following November, I heard the news that he had been defeated in his reelection bid (of course, so had a lot of Democrats that year). I thought to myself that we’d never see this guy again who seemed to hold so much promise. Needless to say, I was wrong. But when, in later days, people seemed to be counting him out, I’d tell them that I’d counted him out before most people in the country had even heard of him, and that I’d never do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/370 "2016-07-27T15:03:34Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Instead of “change maker,” he should of used the refrain “Hillary made it happen!” which the crowd would have repeated with him. Too easy for Trump to twist. “Benghazi? Hillary made it happen! Shipping our jobs to China? Hillary made it happen!” Etc, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/371 "2016-07-27T15:12:19Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > A long time to end the campaign, or end the roll call vote? The campaign. I had no problem with the roll call, and in fact, watched it for the first time since (I think) 1976. As soon as Vermont passed, I knew Sanders was going to move for acclamation at the end, and I think that was very good of him. ---
**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 27, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/372 "2016-07-27T15:28:40Z")
Here’s what this week has done for me, a reluctant Hillary supporter: The convention (speeches, videos, etc) has shifted my thinking from “Hillary has a relentless drive for power and the presidency that I can’t imagine any other human being ever having” (a negative perception) to “Hillary is a tireless public servant who has spent her entire career helping other people and sees the presidency as the ultimate position to do the most good” (a positive perception). Perhaps I’m being naive and getting sucked into the emotions of it, but the convention has been successful thus far in shifting my perceptions of her. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/373 "2016-07-27T15:32:17Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Here’s what this week has done for me, a reluctant Hillary supporter: The convention (speeches, videos, etc) has shifted my thinking from “Hillary has a relentless drive for power and the presidency that I can’t imagine any other human being ever having” (a negative perception) to “Hillary is a tireless public servant who has spent her entire career helping other people and sees the presidency as the ultimate position to do the most good” (a positive perception). > > Perhaps I’m being naive and getting sucked into the emotions of it, but the convention has been successful thus far in shifting my perceptions of her. Well said. I have a similar experience. Bill did a good job of letting us know of all the things she did to make a difference for decades with little fanfare or recognition. She’s a smart, hardworking policy wonk with good intentions. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/374 "2016-07-27T15:35:11Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Here’s what this week has done for me, a reluctant Hillary supporter: The convention (speeches, videos, etc) has shifted my thinking from “Hillary has a relentless drive for power and the presidency that I can’t imagine any other human being ever having” (a negative perception) to “Hillary is a tireless public servant who has spent her entire career helping other people and sees the presidency as the ultimate position to do the most good” (a positive perception). The two positions are not mutually exclusive. Personally I think both apply to Clinton (both Clintons, actually). ---
**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 27, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/375 "2016-07-27T15:41:21Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > The two positions are not mutually exclusive. Personally I think both apply to Clinton (both Clintons, actually). That was exactly what I was thinking! Too bad the presidency is one of those things that anyone who actually wants it probably shouldn’t have it. _One ring to rule them all…_😉 ---
**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 27, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/376 "2016-07-27T15:41:59Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > The two positions are not mutually exclusive. Personally I think both apply to Clinton (both Clintons, actually). But I see her motivation as being more noble than before. The convention has successfully helped me see her as a tireless servant and not just a power-hungry masochist. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/377 "2016-07-27T15:44:31Z")
My impression of Hillary is of a very smart and capable, extremely ambitious, and compassionate person, with a large ego and a lack of humility, a good bit of paranoia, and a tendency to be sloppy in her personal work habits, as well as a politician’s tendency to say what she thinks her audience wants to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/378 "2016-07-27T16:04:23Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > But I see her motivation as being more noble than before. The convention has successfully helped me see her as a tireless servant and not just a power-hungry masochist. I’m not sure I’d go as far as “noble” but she certainly understands the principle of [enlightened self-interest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightened_self-interest) (as opposed to Trump, whose self-interest is as unenlightened as you can get). ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/379 "2016-07-27T16:12:05Z")
Not keen on changemaker, I can see the republicans coming up with something along the lines of “Hillary - Change maker - turns your dollars into pennies” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158/380 "2016-07-27T16:17:36Z")
Well, a bunch of speeches are being hastily reworked, that’s for sure. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-national-convention/760158.md?page=20)