Dear Commons Community,

The virtual Democratic National Convention (DNC) opened last night with a good deal of messaging on the present plight of our country with Donald Trump as the president. 

The opening and sprinkled throughout the evening saw young people giving their comments about our country and its future.  The singing of the national anthem by a diverse group of high school students representing each state in a collage of images was well-done.  The opening prayer asked God to bless all of us including “Republicans, Independents, and Democrats”.  I thought that Eva Longoria as the convention moderator was a distraction but indicative that the evening was part show. The many speakers were on message and to the point.  No one droned on.  I thought the cadre of Republicans supporting Joe Biden including Christie Todd Whitman, Susan Molinari, and John Kasich was a good touch. 

The highlight was the keynote address (see video above) delivered by Michelle Obama, the former first lady.  Her eighteen-minute speech was authentic, powerful, and spoken with emotion and passion.   

“Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” she said.

I thought her best line was:  “…whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.”

Her conclusion:

“This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth.

So, it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history, echoing heroes like John Lewis who said, “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something.” That is the truest form of empathy: not just feeling, but doing; not just for ourselves or our kids, but for everyone, for all our kids.

And if we want to keep the possibility of progress alive in our time, if we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history. And we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all. God bless.”

Michelle aced it and will be remembered for her address.

Tony

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