Highs and Lows of the Democratic Convention

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the Democratic National Convention. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rank each night of the convention on a scale of 1 to 10: 1 means the night was a disaster for Democrats; 10 means it could lead to a big polling bump for Biden-Harris. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought about Night 1, which highlighted Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama.

Best moment

Gail Collins   John Kasich and the other “lifelong” Republicans.

Jamelle Bouie   Bernie Sanders’s speech on the importance of the moment. This was one of the best speeches he has ever given, an impassioned call for a popular front against incipient authoritarianism and a sincere endorsement of a former rival. For Sanders, it is either Biden or barbarism.

Michelle Cottle   One word: MObama. Personal, passionate, pained and pointed — the former first lady crushed it. If you listened closely, you could almost hear the legions of Democrats across the nation weeping that she isn’t interested in running for office.

Nicole Hemmer   Kristin Urquiza’s painful account of her father’s death from Covid-19, with the blistering line, “His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump — and for that he paid with his life.” The intimacy of the platform served her far better than a convention stage.

Daniel McCarthy   Most of the night’s programming felt like a daytime soap-opera, and I’m not talking about Eva Longoria Bastón. But the Floyd family’s appearance and commemoration of Black lives lost was a moment of authentic gravity.

Melanye Price   Michelle Obama! She is beloved by Democrats, and she offered an impassioned plea — for empathy for others and for people to turnout for a Biden-Harris ticket. She is the party’s strongest weapon, and they should use her early and often. She showed why many call her Forever FLOTUS!

Mimi Swartz   “Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfs.” Bernie Sanders for the win.

Héctor Tobar   The opening video montages, and especially the reading of the preamble to the Constitution. Captured the diversity of the country and the emotional essence of who Democratic voters are.

Peter Wehner   Easy. It was Michelle Obama’s speech, which was powerful, superb, humane; but her reflections on empathy and going high particularly resonated with me. An honorable mention goes to the former Republicans, prominent figures and everyday Americans, making the case against Trump and for Biden.

Will Wilkinson   The first night of the convention belonged to ordinary Americans. “My dad was a healthy 65-year-old,” lamented Kristin Urquiza. “His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump — and for that he paid with his life.” No case for Biden is more powerful.

Worst moment

Gail Collins   Regular Democrats like Amy Klobuchar failing to rise to the occasion.

Jamelle Bouie   There was nothing truly cringeworthy or embarrassing. The Democrats probably could have asked just one Republican named Whitman to speak.

Michelle Cottle   The remarks from the parade of pols from both parties — from Gwen Moore to Andrew Cuomo to John Kasich to Doug Jones — consistently fell into an awkward zone that felt both amateurish and canned. Some veered close to hostage-video territory.

Nicole Hemmer   That opening was shaky: People pretending they didn’t know what to do, a singing number that ended with an iMovie star wipe. It got better — much better! — but those first few minutes did not inspire confidence.

Daniel McCarthy   John Kasich appeared to be starring in a pharmaceutical commercial, but he alluded to the real fear voters have that Joe Biden will not say “no” to the far left. Kasich wanted to dispel it, but raising the question at all is dangerous for Biden.

Melanye Price   Republicans for Biden fell flat because none are currently in office — they are not risking anything by taking his side. These are not the Republicans we need to speak against Trump.

Mimi Swartz   Amy Klobuchar. Normally funny with a bracing sarcasm, she overdid the smiling sweetness and was unconvincing when she claimed that endorsing Joe Biden took the sting out of her withdrawal from the presidential race. She should have gone with her natural outrage like Michelle Obama.

Héctor Tobar   If you were watching Fox News during the night’s first hour, you saw Andrew Cuomo really nailing Donald Trump on his Covid response — until Sean Hannity cut him off halfway through, crying revisionism!

Peter Wehner   There was no really bad moment, but John Kasich’s speech — which was quite effective — didn’t need the “fork in the road” visual leading up to it. It was silly and unsubtle.

Will Wilkinson   Networks cut away at different times, so there were different national televisual experiences of the convention. I envy those who missed the soporific musical numbers.

What else mattered

Gail Collins   Even when Biden’s cheerleaders were boring or irritating, you didn’t take it out on him.

Jamelle Bouie   If President Trump is trying to emulate Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign for the White House, then Biden is following Nixon’s 1972 playbook of positioning himself as the candidate of normal America — the “silent majority.” Everything about the night — the speakers, the subjects, the style — made that clear.

Michelle Cottle   The entire evening felt like a telethon focused on defeating a disease known as President Trump. There was much direct criticism of the president’s racism, incompetence, dishonesty and so on, ending with MObama’s lament that Mr. Trump is “in over his head” and has nothing to offer beyond “chaos, division and a total and utter lack of empathy.”

Nicole Hemmer   Tonight was a study in ideological range: from John Kasich to Bernie Sanders, the speakers signaled that the Democratic tent is big enough for Midwestern conservatives, New England socialists and everyone in between. Will that alliance outlast Donald Trump? Doubtful. But it really needs to make it only to November.

Daniel McCarthy   Joe Biden doesn’t look or sound like his party, which has gone from the first Black president four years ago to the oldest white nominee ever. The impression is that Biden is at best a half-measure by the party’s own criteria.

Melanye Price   Like baseball, something is missing without the cheering fans. They have to figure out how to maintain the momentum through the entire broadcast and not just make us wait for the headliners.

Mimi Swartz   The calls for unity and mutual respect came across as genuine and urgent, as did the Democrats’ self-conception as the party of diversity and inclusivity. I wept for the America I have missed. #TheRising pretty much did me in — so did the Democrats actually getting their act together.

Héctor Tobar   As a viewer, I missed the crowd. We were treated, for the most part, to a two-hour infomercial (albeit an excellently produced one). The politician-speakers were deprived of the oxygen that makes their platitudes more palatable — the cheers, laughter and applause of actual human beings.

Peter Wehner   The opening video was beautifully done: unifying, patriotic, diverse. Democrats offered the nation less identity politics than an American identity. It was an effort to make former Republicans like me feel emotionally comfortable with Joe Biden’s Democratic Party. No real hectoring, lecturing or cultural condescension. Oh, and the Springsteen music video, “The Rising,” was great. The people who produced the opening night are not only talented; they have the right theory of the case. Or at least they did on the first night.

Will Wilkinson   The first installment of the Democrats’ infomercial was over-produced, stilted and ought to have been boring. But it wasn’t. It was soothing, hopeful and sentimental in a good way. It made me desperate for boring normality.

Source: Elections - nytimes.com