Grading the Second Night of the Democratic National Convention

On the second day of the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton officially became the nominee of her party. It was interesting that after the roll call vote, Bernie Sanders had received 1865 delegates and called for acclimation. Ironically, the Civil War ended in 1865 and there weren’t any protesting chants during the primetime speeches tonight.

I was surprised though by the lineup and delivery of tonight’s speeches. After a strong start yesterday with energy and memorable speeches by Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders, this evening fell flat. Maybe the goal was to focus on uniting the party by bringing back Democrats people know? Maybe it was a night to soften the image of Hillary Clinton? Either way, it took the wind out of the sails of the first night.

Howard Dean (C-)

I don’t understand the choice of Howard Dean for a speaking spot in the primetime coverage. He’s been irrelevant for a while and it was a missed opportunity to showcase up and coming stars of the party. There wasn’t much of a message, his delivery was weak and while he got a big laugh at the end giving his trademark “I Have a Scream” speech, it was more of a “Hey, remember me?” moment than anything to help Hillary Clinton.

Amy Klobuchar and Ima Matul (C)

Amy Klobuchar started her speech by saying, “I’m here to make the case for a leader who as you just saw is focused on security; security for our country, security for our economy, and our democracy.” I thought it was going to be a speech on national security, but transitioned quickly to humor of strong women and eventually the seriousness of human trafficking. She should have had a different opening and better transitions as I was lost for the first half. Ima Matul did a nice job, but it wasn't set up well at all.

Madeline Albright (B-)

Madeline Albright brought a level of credibility to the stage, made a case for Hillary Clinton’s judgment, and added a personal touch. She gave a few good zingers aimed at Donald Trump, but it seemed robotic and there weren’t any dynamic changes to fully engage the audience. It was better than the previous two speeches, but not effective enough to be remembered especially in the shadow of Bill Clinton.

Bill Clinton (B+/B)

Bill Clinton delivered vintage Bill Clinton. The speech moved too slow in the beginning, but picked up steam half way and finished strong. It felt that he was trying to re-introduce Hillary to the world, and position her as a “change-maker”, but that’s a tough contextual sell on a night that seemed old and familiar. I’m not sure if this speech is going to change anyone’s mind and I didn't like it as much as most of the pundits did. If it was shorter and moved quicker, I might have rated it higher, but it wasn’t at the level of Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama's speeches yesterday.

Merryl Streep (B+) - Extra Credit

I wasn’t sure if I was going to include this speech because she didn’t speak for that long, but it was such a contrast from the other speeches, that it had to be mentioned. Merryl Streep was dynamic, delivered a powerful message, and educated the audience of the story of Deborah Sampson that she brilliantly weaved through her speech. She should have been between Madeline Albright and Bill Clinton and given more time instead of just a video introduction.

Overall Score: B-/C+

Tonight’s primetime speeches were a step down from the energy of night one. Even the star power of Bill Clinton couldn’t keep the overall momentum going. It’s hard to tell the story of someone who’s been in the public eye for 25 years in a new, interesting, and exciting way. Hillary Clinton has to improve her trustworthy and likability numbers, but dedicating a whole night of the convention to that may have been a mistake. Donald Trump had one testimonial each night from a family member and that seemed to work better than a full night would have. The Democrats have to get back on track tomorrow and focus on the issues that most voters care about this election season.

Picture by Hafakot/Shutterstock.com

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