This convention took place amid one of the most fascinating Presidential election years I can remember and I remember them going back to 1968, which was a year marked by riots, political assassination and a growing civil rights movement.
The 2024 election year has been calm by comparison but by no less eventful.
The Democrats met following the nomination of Donald Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021 and has been one of the most divisive politicians in American history.
Following a debate with Trump, one term President Biden decided not to run for reelection because the fallout from the debate with Trump had delivered a fatal blow. Biden resisted for several weeks before he had to clear the way for his Vice-President. Trump was thrown from his lead in the polls as VP Kamala Harris was duly assigned as the nominee. Within days, Harris became the new front runner and Trump's campaign to unseat Biden had to refocus on Harris.
The Convention outcome was a foregone conclusion because Harris was the clear choice with no apparent opposition. The Convention turned into a huge party for the Democrats as they met in Chicago to formally endorse Harris as the nominee for President and a popular mid-western governor Tim Wahls as nominee for Vice-President. Wahls easily won the delegates support for his experience as a governor and former member of Congress.
The convention highlighted luminaries of the party including Biden and past presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton were also given speaking roles. Hillary Clinton, herself the 2016 nominee for president, gave a speech that fired up the Convention delegates.
Kamala Harris' speech was one of the most effective speeches I have ever heard. She talked about the influence of her immigrant parents, especially her mother and her fight to help average Americans and the responsibility to care for the less fortunate. The people are her client she said. She contrasted this stand with Trump "whose only client has been himself". She also talked about his support for the insurgents who stormed Capitol Hill and killed six police officers, a frightening event about the danger he poses for democracy.
The convention was a huge success and brought about a tremendous show of unity among the delegates. The campaign that follows will be a hard fought one. Trump has a tremendous well of support among Americans who see the opposition as an elite group who represent news media, Hollywood activists, intellectuals and liberal thinkers bent on favouring minorities over average Americans. It is ironic that a multi-millionaire who was raised in privilege and has nothing to offer but rants and tax cuts for the wealthy is considered to be a friend of ordinary Americans.
So as the campaign gets underway, there are two hostile camps ready to engage in national combat.
