Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday as the first female nominee for President from a major political party. Although there have been other female candidates, Clinton is the first to have a real chance of winning the Presidency.
The road to the official nomination, even at the DNC, wasn’t an easy one. Sanders supporters pushed for a roll call vote, requiring all state delegates to present accurate vote totals, in hopes that Sanders superdelegates might miraculously appear on the Wells Fargo arena floor.
When that didn’t happen, Sanders delegates staged a walk out, leaving the arena and taking up residence in media tents, where they held a “silent protest” – conveniently right in front of everyone looking to file their evening stories.
Strange scene in media tent: people cannot leave or get in. #DemsInPhilly #DNCinPHL pic.twitter.com/MntQCRgtyB
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) July 26, 2016
At times, the protest became emotional. At one point, the Sanders supporters looked to be suffering real hardship, separated by glass from compatriots for upwards of fifteen minutes.
Protesters inside the media tent touch their hands to those locked outside pic.twitter.com/xtVi8Swn2e
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) July 27, 2016
But as the speakers began to file into Wells Fargo, even the Bernie deserters were ready to get down to the business of making the official nomination – although some didn’t quite understand that a “walkout” of the convention meant they likely weren’t welcome to return.
Here's the scene as walkouters wait to see if they'll be allowed back in convention. pic.twitter.com/zWnFLrPLl6
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) July 27, 2016
The speakers Tuesday night were able to easily gloss over the disunity happening on the arena floor. From the “Mothers of a Movement” – women whose sons were among the high-profile victims of police shootings – to Bill Clinton, the night revolved around the softer, more caring, motherly side of the woman who may or may not have exposed classified information to geopolitical enemies and systematically destabilized the Middle East.
Former President Bill Clinton took the keynote speaking slot, the first man to ever take the hour or so reserved for presumptive First Ladies. It’s a speech where the wife gets to give the audience an “inside look” at a political marriage, with colorful anecdotes, kind words and only the slightest hint of the spouse’s ancillary political agenda.
This year, the First Lady speeches, even at the RNC, have been non-traditional, with Melania Trump giving a boilerplate look at Donald Trump’s home life, and Clinton giving a 52-minute biography lesson designed to soften Hillary Clinton’s image and provide a stark contrast to what he called the “cartoon” version of Hillary, presented at the RNC.
Meticulously recounting his and Hillary’s lives together – an understatement if you consider that he went year-by-year starting in the late 1960s – Clinton wove an odd take that might have been about love if it hadn’t involved the Clintons.
Glossing over what he called the “bad times,” Bill talked about Hillary the law student, Hillary the community organizer, Hillary the inspired activist, Hillary the mother and Hillary the public servant – and a little about his deep and abiding love for the Police Academy franchise.
It was an emotional appeal that, at best, is based on a true story. But with the understanding that his wife is running with record unfavorables, it might have been the best thing he could have done for her campaign.
