I invited Michelle Obama up to my room the other
night and she accepted. While there, she explained to me why she thinks I
should vote for Joe Biden and/or against trump. She looked me right in the eye
and calmly examined the state of the union. Afterward, we drank a toast
to each other and to the future of America.
Well, that’s not exactly right. I did the drinking. She was busy making other house calls and the video of the virtual Democratic National Convention switched to someone else.
Television is a more intimate medium than the
chaotic nonsense that marks a more traditional political nominating condition.
After the visit, I attended the monthly seance
of the Famous Dead Newstypes. Huntley and Brinkley were more or less
satisfied with the results. (Brinkley’s comment was “less (expletive
deleted) nonsense.”
Cronkite didn’t attend. He always spends
his Augusts on his Ghost Ship off Cape Cod.
Jimmy Breslin: “Beautiful. They’re putting the
cheap hoodlums in their place. Now let me out of this dog show.”
Helen Thomas: “About time someone made sense of
[all this.]”
Paul Sann: “When the New York Post was a real
newspaper, we would have had six guys at the Zoom locations. I was
unhappy it was Biden, not Bernie. But these days you have to take what
you get.”
Margurite Higgins: “I was gripped by the insanity
of [all this.]”
Earl Wilson: [“Biden is so honest] you could
shoot craps with him over the phone.”
In what may be unprecedented, the first night of
the convention ended on schedule. Everyone expected Bill Clinton, the mouth of
the south to fix that last night. But he didn’t. He spoke (pre-recorded) for
five minutes. In an earlier time, Bill Clinton couldn’t say “hello, how
are you?” in five minutes. You never longed for his speeches to last
longer. Last night, you might have.
The pull quote: “There’s only chaos. [trump’s
determination] to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never
stops there.”
That’s symbolic. One of the hallmarks of a
political convention is the endless blah blah that comes from the mouths of
politicians you never heard of and never will hear from again. Except if
it’s Mario Cuomo talking. And maybe Barack Obama.
CONVENTIONAL NOTES:
--Jill Biden inspires confidence.
--So far, Hillary’s should remain invisible. But
she’s scheduled to speak tonight.
--Virtual enthusiasm is tough in a political
convention. The participants did a pretty good job of it.
--AOC’s appearance made that a little easier.
She only spoke for a minute and a half. She could have made the same
impact just standing there.
--It seemed like a mere afterthought, but the conventioneers
endorsed Biden as the Democratic Party’s candidate for President.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but
you’re welcome to them. ®
Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com
© WJR 2020
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