I stayed up late last night watching the Democratic National Convention. It was oddly compelling. Without the fanfare and crowds, the tendency of camera people to look for crowd reaction shots and speakers to drone on, it forces the viewer to simply focus on the words being said. Make America Decent Again with a side of next generation leaders and everyday Americans speaking to the best of who we are. To be sure, there was a nostalgic streak, but as Don Draper famously said, nostalgia is delicate, but potent. At a time when we're barely keeping our heads above water, it's not such a bad thing to remind us that we are better than this, that we can do this, that, as Biden often says, (paraphrasing) betting against America is a losing bet. I don't know. The realpolitik of what happens in DC in 2020 is not the gauzy, soft lens bipartisanship of the 1970s and 1980s, but this is who Biden is, this is what he believes. Reporters claim they (and we) want authenticity in our politicians. Well, featuring a bunch of septuagenarians like Chuck Hagel and Colin Powell, John Kerry and Cindy McCain, all testifying to Biden's decency, decision making, and character is not intended to get the Tik Tok generation fired up. It is not fodder for the online social media discussion. It is directed at reliable voters (seniors) who, if they swing to Biden's camp, sink Trump's battleship. Having Jill Biden speak to parents' fears while connecting the losses we have experienced as a nation to the ones Biden experienced in his personal life tell us that this guy will be the calming presence, the stable core, the steady hand, that guides the ship of state. In the action and reaction between hope and change and build the wall, maybe that is what we need right now.
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