Day #2 Dem Convention: Humanizing Hillary

The second night of the DNC began in earnest with the Hillary Clinton roll call for nomination. Was very interesting to watch the different state delegates get up and make their brief speeches before declaring the number of votes for either Hillary or Bernie. Most clearly enjoyed their few minutes of fame and so did I. Nothing like watching democracy in action by giving average, every day citizens a chance to stand up and feel like a part of the bigger picture and of history as well.

After awhile, Bernie Sanders showed up and moved to suspend the rules and  nominated Hillary for POTUS by acclimation. The crowd agreed, the vote was taken and the rest is history.

Keep in mind that Hillary gathered 2,842 votes, Bernie 1,865.  Also note that Hillary's count included Super Delegates who represent the party vs actual votes by We The People.  Makes me wonder if it weren't for them and the current DNC scandal where they basically derailed Bernie, would Hillary had even stood a chance? Guess we'll never know. Sanders fans have got to be incredibly frustrated and understandably so, thinking their candidate might have won if not for foul play and the favoritism shown Hillary.

Consequently,  when Terry McAuliffe, governor of VA,  former DNC Chairman and former Campaign Manager for both Bill and Hillary arrived on stage,  there was initially alot of booing and also chants of  'Bernie, Bernie' from his supporters.  Couldn't blame them one bit after all that's happened recently. Regardless, Terry's speech was short with no lasting takeaway or great one liner's to pass on.

Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader from CA was next up. She too was only on the stage briefly. Her message was that by electing Hillary Clinton, the glass ceiling for women would at last be broken.

Then it was a string of women who spoke from various non-profits, walks of life, etc. In a nut shell they told their stories of discrimination and carried out the mantra of 'When Women Succeed, America Succeeds' and 'I'm with her'.

Jimmy Carter, former POTUS spoke via a video. Then Chuck Schumer, NY Senator took the stage next.

Schumer went on to say how Obama fought to defend the US, accused the GOP of dividing Americans, mentioned how Hillary understands middle America better than anyone and that her word is good. Last,  he went on to bash the Trumpster as well as corporate America. He also talked about how the Dems need to take over the Senate.

Elizabeth Banks, Actress; Thaddeus Demond, Anton Moore and many others then spoke as witnesses to Hillary's upstanding and caring character and integrity.

Eric Holder, former AG to the Obama Administration then made an appearance. No doubt he was put on stage to try and repair damages made in relation to all the recent shootings within the black community and violence against police officers.

But first he started out with how 'America is already a great nation' -  a not so subtle dig at Trump.

Then he went on to talk about how black lives matter, that his brother was a police officer and that the attacks on police are an attack on all. He also mentioned that police need to treat people with respect and dignity.

Bottom line is that Mr. Holder tried to play both sides of the coin with hopes of maintaining the black vote as well as possibly garnering support from those who feel police in general have been painted in an unjust light.

Next up were black mothers of children killed by police officers. Talk about a paradox of stances within just a few minutes of each other.

The mothers talked about how black lives matter and how Hillary will lead the fight for gun control. On and off during their speeches, black lives matter chants rang out from the audience.

Before Bill Clinton got up to speak, Steve Benjamen, Mayor of Columbia, SC got up to speak. He seemed to be the one and only speaker who was somewhat patriotic, inspirational and not into negative rhetoric. It was refreshing to listen to him after all the negativity.

Barbara Boxer, Senator from CA also spoke and of course gave her testimonial about how awesome Hillary Clinton is and how everyone should support her.

Finally, Bill Clinton appeared on the stage.

He started out with how he first met Hillary in 1971. The story was told in quite the charming way. Then he went on to espouse how she's been fighting for children and minorities during most of her career  from when she was an attorney, to Senator, presidential wife, etc.

Mr. Clinton also talked about how some say Hillary has been around too long a time, but that counts for something. That she has accomplished much, has never been satisfied with the status quo and always wants to keep moving forward. He cited program after program where she created and improved the lives of the poor, minorities and children.

Overall, Bill gave a nice speech. He appeared relaxed, was witty and told many anecdotal stories that put Hillary in a more humane and kind light.

In other words, I think he did a wonderful job of trying to white wash Hillary's character and career history. At least that appeared to be the case with the Convention Center's audience as they cheered on and on. Whether his speech will have an impact on Bernie supporters or others not under the spell of the Clintons and possibly gain votes from non-believers, remains to be seen. But Mr. Clinton did give it his best shot.

With the above being said, I must comment about how each and every time Bill waved his index finger to make a point, all I could think of was the same waving of the finger when denying his affair with Monica Lewinsky while stating,  'I did not have sex with that woman. Not once.....' . That image will never be erased from my memory.

Here are some remaining thoughts on day #2 of the DNC.

First, there were way too many speakers. Few of which really made an impact or hit a home run.

There were also too many short video's which again, I don't think had much impact one way or the other. Think they were just time fillers to give people a break from speech making.

In fact the whole event played out like amateur night compared to the GOP convention. Not sure if I feel this way because I don't like Hillary, the Dems, the whining and complaining from most of the speakers or because truth be told, it was just poorly put together. I literally had to fight to stay focused, pay attention and/or not nod off into dreamland.

Up next? Day #3.