Grading the Third Night of the Democratic National Convention

After a rough night in primetime yesterday, the Democrat Convention got back on track this evening. Overall the night was filled with energy and passion.

The messaging was heavy on attacking Donald Trump and never made a strong case for Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments. Tonight was filled with Hillary Clinton adjectives; passionate, experienced, and hardworking. If the tepid night yesterday was the case for Hillary Clinton’s resume, they are leaving a lot of work for her to do tomorrow. Its not that Hillary Clinton hasn’t accomplished anything, but there are big holes in the areas where people are most concerned this election season, and they weren't talked about tonight.

Joe Biden (A-)

- I don’t usually start my analysis until 9:30pm, but I’ll bend my rules for the Vice President of the United States. Joe Biden delivered a passionate speech that touched on the personal, was fiery, and rallied the crowd. The messaging was disjointed as he tried to cover a lot, but each piece was delivered well. The Democrats missed an opportunity as this speech would have livened the crowd last night, and wasn’t needed tonight with Barack Obama speaking.

Michael Bloomberg (B+)

- Michael Bloomberg was brought in to make a play for Independent voters that Trump has gained a double-digit lead with since the Republican Convention. While it was dry, it was probably the best case made against Donald Trump this evening. I don’t think this wins back any voters that have moved to the Trump camp, but this might make voters thinking third party or Sanders voters staying home to re-visit this. Unfortunately this speech will be forgotten on a night with more dynamic speeches.

Tim Kaine (C+)

- Tim Kaine certainly comes across as a good guy, but his speech wasn’t effective. I feel bad for him as his speechwriters really let him down. Similar to Elizabeth Warren’s speech on night one, it felt like a Senate floor speech, not a speech for the national primetime stage. It wasn’t framed well, had awkward transitions, and I wouldn’t have put so much emphasis on questioning Trump’s believability with Hillary Clinton’s untrustworthy polls at close to 70%. This didn’t meet expectations.

Barack Obama (A-/B+)

- Nobody can question President Obama’s speaking skills. He has a gift. His goal tonight was to rally the troops and make the case to give the Democrat party another four years. He delivered a great speech to the arena and rallied his party, but I’m not sure it’s going to influence half the country at home who feel alienated by this president. In most of his speeches, President Obama criticizes those who don’t agree with him and over time he’s lost the ability to influence them. Even tonight he discarded the genuine fears people have. I believe this speech was mute to those people and serves as a teachable moment that every speech matters and you need to speak to everyone every time…not just on the big stage. He gave a great speech tonight (even though it was too long and had too many closes), but it won’t be as effective for the country as it could have been if he spoke more inclusively over the last 7.5 years.

Overall Score: B+

While tonight put the convention back on track in a big way, it left a lot on Hillary Clinton’s plate for tomorrow. Too much of the evening was filled with attacks on Trump, the last eight years, and I don’t think Tim Kaine helped her out. She also has to follow President Obama’s speech, which authentically connected with the audience, which is difficult for her to do. Bottom line, the last three days built Hillary Clinton up bigger than life. Tomorrow its all on her and the biggest speech of her life.

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