Commentary

DNC Day Two: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Up Close and Personal

Democrats made history yesterday evening in Philadelphia.

The Democratic National Convention, held in the city of brotherly love, nominated the first woman to top the general election ballot of a major political party in the United States. While Monday night focused on unity and gave the progressive voice a powerful microphone, last night was all about Hillary Clinton.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders made a last inspiring show of unity by officially moving during the roll call vote that Hillary Clinton be nominated as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He mirrored Hillary Clinton’s move during the 2008 convention when she did the same for then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

The theme of day two was “A Lifetime of Fighting for Children and Families.”

A strong show of support for the African American community and a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, noticeably absent from the RNC last week, was a poignant part of the speaker lineup.

Mothers of the Movement, a group of women who have had children murdered in high-profile cases, spoke to the convention about why they are voting for Hillary Clinton in November. The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Jordan Davis, Dontre Hamilton and Hadiya Pendleton were present.

“I am here with Hillary Clinton tonight, because she knows that when a young black life is cut short, it’s not just a loss, it’s a personal loss, it’s a national loss, it’s a loss that diminishes all of us,” Sandra Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal told convention delegates.

In addition, Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McKay, speaking for both law enforcement and improved policy, noted: "We can support our police officers while at the same time making criminal-justice reforms."

The most revealing and touching speech of the night was given by President Bill Clinton.

President Clinton has been accused throughout the 2016 cycle of going dangerously off-script and engaging in scandal-creating meetings, such as a social meet with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch before the outcome of Secretary Clinton’s FBI email probe had been made public.

Clinton went off-script last night as well, but in the most human and candid way. He spoke of the story of his life with Hillary, beyond politics and within.

When remembering the first time they met, Bill Clinton showed the United States the straightforward and self-assured woman Hillary Clinton has always been: “She walked the whole length of the library, came up to me and said, 'Look, if you’re going to keep staring at me and now I’m staring back, we at least ought to know each other’s name. I’m Hillary Rodham, who are you?' ”

The theme of his speech might as well have been, The best change maker I know. “You could drop her in any trouble spot, pick one, come back in a month and somehow … she will have made it better. That’s just who she is.”

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