Aw, is The Nation getting all surly? Things must be going well.

I didn’t actually watch the first night of the DNC last night. It seems to me appropriate to watch the first night of the first virtual convention in the modern fashion. I didn’t watch it while it was “on,” to use a 20th century term.

Instead I’ve been streaming bits of it, as I have felt like it, today.

I like what I’ve seen, but I don’t really have any general observations to offer about the whole thing. But apparently The Nation does, based on this email I got:

surly

Looks like the first night made The Nation kinda surly. Check out such nonsense as “Democrats err by amplifying Kasich’s claptrap over AOC’s progressive vision.” Wow. I thought Kasich’s clip was great. It was essentially, “Here’s why everybody should vote for Joe — especially those in the overwhelming majority of the country that doesn’t drink AOC Kool-Aid for breakfast.”

This is good news. It underlines that the convention is appealing less to the “woke” crowd, and more to the rest of us — the aforementioned overwhelming majority.

This is excellent. I like this. This is exactly what we need to end the Trump nightmare…

11 thoughts on “Aw, is The Nation getting all surly? Things must be going well.

  1. bud

    Bernie had the best line of the night – “Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump plays golf”.

  2. randle

    Factions are always going to get cranky when they don’t get their way. I like to hear from everybody because I like ideas and have never found that one person or group who has a monopoly on the best ones. I like a lot of what I’ve heard from AOC so far, and I especially like the way she stands her ground when people try to intimidate her for acting as if she is a duly elected member of Congress. Her response to that cowardly bottom-feeder Ted Yoho was pitch-perfect. I would like to hear more from her tonight than what she can communicate in 60 seconds, but the Democrats are trying to win an election and don’t want to scare those skittish voters in the swing states. I hope progressives have sense enough to realize that biding their time now and winning will serve them better in the long run than abetting their country’s disappearance if the election goes the other way. We’re voting for democracy right now; we can move to policy discussions later. As galling as that may seem.

  3. Bill

    Somewhere to the slight left of right-wing extremism is the same middle that brought us what we’ve already got,and you’re ready for more?
    Maybe people should go ahead and wake up before they’re dead.Don’t cost nothing…

  4. Bryan Caskey

    Watched a few minutes, then clicked it off. I always liked the roll call at conventions where each state would do a little silly celebration for their state. Without that, and no one wearing lanyards, it’s just not the same.

      1. Barry

        Im not watching. Made up my mind to vote for the democratic nominee in 2017.

        I prefer to watch the hypocrisy coming from conservatives who are commenting on the convention.

  5. bud

    The roll call was absolutely fantastic! It was a mini travel show featuring iconic views from across the nation. I hope this version of the roll is retained for future conventions. This was far better than the old way. For the most part the Dems are pulling this off nicely. They’re positive, fun and united.

    1. bud

      My biggest complaint is the scarcity of young speakers. Did Pete Buttigieg get to speak? Remember a young Barack Obama in 2004?

      1. Brad Warthen Post author

        You must have done like me — I tuned in late.

        But my understanding is that a huge chunk of the evening was devoted totally to “the next generation” of Democrats. In fact, they collectively were the keynote. For instance, our own Marlon Kimpson was featured. I’m sorry I missed that…

        And Pete represented Indiana in the roll call. He starred in their little video. I included a picture on this post

          1. Brad Warthen Post author

            Maybe the young folks were the de jure keynote speakers, while Jill was the de facto. I dunno. I didn’t have a program.

            Who was playing first again?

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