This convention is… something else
In terms of winning and losing, I’ve never thought of the conventions as being a big deal. Each party holds a convention that fires up their base, each side walks away thinking it had the better convention, each side gets a brief bump in the polls after its convention, and then a month later it ends up feeling like the conventions had no impact on the election at all. But maybe not this time.
Donald Trump’s 2024 convention was a dud by any measure. There was a lack of overall excitement for four days, a lack of enthusiasm (even seemingly within the hall) for the ticket, a lack of star power, and a lack of any connection to the Republican Party’s own history – even its recent history. When the Republican Party can’t get George W. Bush to speak because he’s afraid of sullying his reputation, the party has gone down a very dark path.
Still, even with the Republican National Convention being such a dud that Trump didn’t even get a temporary bounce out of it, that didn’t automatically mean it was advantage Democrats. In order to capitalize on the Republican convention’s failure, the Democratic convention was going to have to be a big enough deal to reach people in ways that conventions usually don’t.
After watching three nights of the Democratic National Convention, I dare say that it might indeed be doing precisely that. There’s been a sheer joyfulness to every minute of it – not in a self satisfied way, but in a “celebration of America” kind of way. When legends like Barack and Michelle Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton are competing for memorable moments with an endless list of up and comers, you realize just how stunningly deep and broad this party’s bench runs. And when pop culture icons like Oprah and Stevie Wonder are just casually strolling in to join in the celebration, you realize that all the cool people are on your side.
But this was no Oscars, so to speak. There’s no elitism here. This isn’t a cool kids only club. The biggest star last night was a balding high school football school from the midwest, and he stole the show. The Democratic Party isn’t some glamour party. It’s one big American party, with room for everyone who’s willing to accept everyone else. And that had to come across on TV to the people who are still trying to decide whether to go vote.
Sometimes you can get caught up in the moment. So ask me again after the convention has been over for a few days. But if I had to make a call right now, I’d say this convention might be broadening the Democrats’ prospects in a way that conventions usually don’t. It helps that the Republican Party is at an all time low. But even apart from that, it feels like the Democratic Party is at an all time high.
