First let me say, as those of you who have read me already know, that the canning of Debbie Wasserman Schultz was absolutely the right thing to do, her presence on the convention stage would have been a huge disaster. There is no need to re-litigate the primaries here, as that would be pointless and would not serve the purpose of this diary - which is to congratulate the Clinton Campaign — and to also thank Debbie sincerely for her part in planning what I view as the best produced and executed Presidential Convention I have ever seen.
I am a political junkie and have watched pretty much every Democratic Convention since the goat rodeo in 1968, excluding 1976 and 1980 when I was otherwise occupied serving in the Navy overseas, and can honestly say, in terms of production value and content, that this year’s tops them all.
1972 remains my personal favorite; for after 1968’s black and white (we didn’t have as color TV yet) presentation of pasty faced squabbling knot of party bosses, it was thrilling to see the party represented in ‘72 by younger people, some longhairs and many POC delegates. My all time favorite convention moment was a probably non PC one in 1972, when NBC news alternated camera shots between young protesters parading a hand made “Stop Bombing The Dikes” banner and a gay and lesbian contingent representing either California or New York (I presume)...
Of course the party this year was benefited by a veritable galaxy of stars, simply great speech makers, any number of whom could comfortably share a stage with past luminaries such as Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson. Barack and Michelle, Joe Biden, the nominee and Tim Kaine, as well as Elizabeth Warren and many others, all to lessor or greater degrees, acquitted themselves very well.