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3 THINGS ABOUT DNC NIGHT ONE
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

The country’s first virtual political convention opened Monday night with two hours of speeches beamed in from across the country, the national anthem sung by kids in Zoom-style video boxes and no crowd in any location.

Joe Biden’s campaign officials have been self-aware about the unprecedented nature of what they are doing, a convention with almost no convening. Here, we thought we’d take a look at something else — three things that stood out in the substance of the first night of this unconventional event and why they matter.

Identity politics

Democrats’ theme on Day 1 was officially “We the People,” but this was more of a motto. The larger theme was identity, with Democrats making a case that this election is a fight about the American identity, how Democrats see that identity and their argument that President Donald Trump has manipulated it.

Host Eva Longoria spent the first minutes of the program putting out one definition for identity, saying, “at our best our country rewards hard work, we celebrate diversity, we look out for each other and we lift each one another up.”

Former first lady Michelle Obama ended the night pointing to a fragmented America -- “a nation that’s underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character.” and later adding, “This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another.”

And nearly every speaker touched on this idea that Trump’s America has become disconnected from its own moral and community identity.

Why does this matter? Two reasons. Trump ran and won in 2016 on his vision of American identity, asserting a nationalist kind of American greatness. The Biden campaign here is directly challenging the Trumpian view. The second reason? Recent polls show character is one of Trump’s weakest areas with voters. In June, Gallup found just 36 percent of Americans surveyed see the president as honest and trustworthy.

Democrats are on offense

Another notable takeaway from Democrats’ Day One: They are on offense.

There was plenty of passion from progressives, with rallying cries from key leaders on the left, like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

But at the same time, Democrats spent much of Monday night reaching out to groups of swing voters who have leaned more Republican in recent years — farmers, business owners, people of faith and, above all, Republicans themselves.

The very first segment in the key, prime-time 10 p.m. Eastern hour was a series of remarks from four well-known Republican politicians: New Jersey’s Christine Whitman, California’s Meg Whitman, New York’s Susan Molinari and Ohio’s John Kasich.

Kasich, the former governor, member of Congress and presidential candidate, stressed that he is a proud, lifelong Republican, but argued that the country and his party can do better than Trump. And he made the big pitch:”I’m sure there are Republicans and independents who couldn’t imagine crossing over to support a Democrat. They believe he may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don’t believe that.”

Why does this matter? Elections are won by whichever party can expand the political map the most. At this convention, Democrats are working hard to try to expand theirs.

Not (yet) appearing

Among the challenges of the pandemic-convention format is the far smaller window of time for all speeches. In 2016, Democrats gaveled in each day at 4 p.m. ET. This year, that happens (virtually) at 9 p.m., shrinking the time for speeches by hours each day.

Why does this matter? Some big names and important groups did not make it onto the program Monday, while others got only a minute or two to make their case.

The chair of the Democratic Party, Tom Perez, did not speak. Nor did the third-place finisher in the Democratic primaries, Pete Buttigieg. Both are expected on future nights. Also not making the tight time cut Monday night: any Native American speakers, speakers addressing LGBTQ rights or anyone representing the disability community. Those communities are expected on other nights, as well.


Read more takeaways from the first night here ([link removed]) . Join us every morning during the conventions at 10:30 a.m. EDT for Politics This Morning, highlighting takeaways from the night before and casting to the day ahead. And every evening before our 8 p.m. EDT broadcast special analysis, join the NewsHour’s Daniel Bush for our digital pre-show. Watch on your local PBS station, our website or YouTube pages. And check out all the ways you can follow our convention coverage here ([link removed]) .


#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke ([link removed])
Politics producer

When presidential nominating conventions first began, elite party officials would come together to decide their nominee. Conventions as we know them didn’t begin until much later and the nominee typically didn’t even appear to give a speech and accept the nomination in person. That changed when one presidential nominee flew to the convention to give a speech.

Our question: Which president broke that tradition and formally accepted his party’s nomination with a speech?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: How many vice presidents got to announce their own election to the presidency as president of the Senate?

The answer: Four

Those lucky vice presidents were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren and George H. W. Bush. They were each sitting vice presidents when they were elected to the presidency. Fourteen former vice presidents have gone on to become president. Eight of those VPs took the highest office after the death of a president.

Congratulations to our winners: Jackie Austin and Barry Weinstein!!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your Inbox next week.
[link removed]
WATCH: Politics This Morning with Daniel Bush and Amna Nawaz
The PBS NewsHour’s Daniel Bush and Amna Nawaz talk about the biggest moments from the first night of the Democratic National Convention and what to watch in the week ahead.

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