DNC Day 3: From the Window to the Walz

The third day of the Democratic National Convention continued highlighting the strength and diversity of the Democratic Party by bringing out their Hall of Famers and future superstars to sell the message of joy and moving forward together. However, the disparity and selectivity of who is included was also made clear by who was excluded. 

Gaza continues being an inconvenient genocide for the Biden-Harris Administration, which is complicit in Benjamin Netanyahu’s failed war that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians and created a man-made famine and humanitarian crisis. Democrats still have a day left to include a Palestinian American Democrat who is grieving due to an occupation and a war that is claiming the lives of far too many civilians.

The desire for a ceasefire, a return of Israeli hostages, and the rebuilding of Gaza is a popular talking point and platform shared by the majority of Americans. It also reflects a generosity of spirit, an acknowledgement of people’s suffering, and a welcoming wide tent. This spirit was best exemplified by the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who has been held hostage by Hamas since October. His mother said, “There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners.” She’s absolutely correct. Unfortunately, it’s obvious not all lives and communities matter to Democrats as evidenced by the sidelining of Palestinians so far.

It reminds me of the 2008 election. I had a chance to interview Howard Dean and asked him why Democrats weren’t forcefully pushing back against the ugly Islamophobic attacks against Barack Obama and Muslims. He looked at me and sternly said the election is just a few months away. Translation: shut your mouth and vote! Well, Muslims did just that and helped Obama become the first Black President. It took him seven and a half years to visit the Muslim American community in a mosque after he had nothing left to lose. Here’s hoping it won’t take Kamala Harris that long to course correct on Gaza.

Speaking of representation, it was at least nice to see Mindy Kaling, an Indian American woman, host the evening partly to honor and celebrate Kamala Harris’s Indian heritage. The rest of the evening kept up the preacher’s joyful vibe that has been present throughout the week. The future titans of the party came out swinging. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries flexed his oratorical skills bringing rhyme and rhythm to his rousing speech. He had one of the best zingers of the night: “Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with but he just won't go away. Bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”

Gov. Shapiro and Pete Buttigieg also used their brief time to rally the crowd and try to win over swing voters and independents, respectively. For the second night in a row, Democrats leaned on Republicans to make the case against Donald Trump. Geoff Duncan, the former Lt. Gov of Georgia, called out his party and declared, “If Republicans are being intellectually honest with ourselves, our party is not civil or conservative. It's chaotic and crazy. Our party acts more like a cult worshiping a felonious thug.” He’s absolutely right and hopefully his inclusion gives space for other Republicans to finally say in public what they’ve been saying privately for the past nine years. 

Democrats also brought out the old guard represented by heavyweights, including Rep. Pelosi, President Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Clinton improvised a large part of his speech, taking his time to make the case for Democrats but also to dig into Trump’s age and weirdness. “I turned 78,” Clinton told the audience. “The oldest man in my family who is still living. And the only personal vanity I want to assert is that I’m still younger than Donald Trump.” Clinton also mentioned Trump’s obsession with Hannibal Lecter and did a nice call-back to McDonald’s for us old heads who remember. 

The Oprah came out and did Oprah things and basically promised us all freedom, joy, and America in her Oprah voice if we elected Kamala Harris. She also flexed against JD Vance who has repeatedly mocked childless women: "When a house is on fire, we don't ask about someone's race or religion, or who their partner is. We try our best to save them. And if the house belongs to a childless cat lady, well, we'll try to get that cat out, too."

The entire evening was an amuse-bouche for the main course which was the introduction of Gov. Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’s running mate. He delivered exactly how he hoped he would when he was being considered among others candidates.

He’s the perfect complement to Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants born and raised in California. Tim Walz shows American men, especially white men, that a better vision of manhood and masculinity exists which is far more loving, successful, decent and appealing than the toxic bravado and cruelty of Trump and MAGA. He’s a dad, coach, teacher, veteran, and hunter willing to stand beside and elevate the first Black-Indian woman running for President. He brought out the Midwestern Nice and didn’t just talk about helping your neighbors and your community, but showed it through his years of service. 

The moment that sealed him as the real deal was when the camera did a great cutaway shot to his son, Gus, who was seen crying and pointing to the stage, saying, “That’s my dad” with pride and love. As a fellow dad, let me tell you, that’s like winning the Super Bowl of life. 

Speaking of winning, there’s an election less than three months. The lady of the moment, Kamala Harris, will have an opportunity to march down the field and get closer to victory tomorrow night. 

See you then.