The opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia was interesting. Like its Republican counterpart in Cleveland last week the objective was unity. The situations were handled very differently!

The Republicans opted for a split session, the Democrats for a marathon starting in the late afternoon. The Republicans squelched opposition with heavy handed maneuvering, lack of transparency (or even clarity for that matter) and who knows what degree of honesty. The Democrats let the “opposition” have its say and decrease in volume as the evening went along.

As the session opened the Bernie or Bust people booed almost everything. They actually made it difficult to hear speakers even via television. For the most part the Democratic powers that be simply let them tire themselves out. Evidentially humans have a greater capacity to sustain cheers than boos.

As we started to approach the meat of the lineup comedian Sarah Silverman (a Bernie supporter) and Minnesota Senator Al Franken (a Hillary supporter) were sharing the stage tasked with stretching out their time a bit to accommodate preparations for singer Paul Simon. Silverman had had enough of the Bernie or Bust crowd and decided to speak up. She told them, “You’re being ridiculous.” She was substantially effective.

Shortly after Simon’s performance New Jersey Senator Cory Booker took the microphone and delivered a speech that was good until near the end where it turned fantastic. It did not reach the level of Barack Obama’s 2004 keynote speech in Boston but it was enough to propel him to the top of the 2024 Democratic “lottery list”. The Republicans simply do not currently have anyone capable of matching Booker’s oratory skills.

FLOTUS Michelle Obama was next delivering a mom oriented speech praising Hillary Clinton. Most observers felt that was the best speech of the evening. I’ll give that platitude to Booker and the moment certainly goes to Silverman.

“Progressive Night” continued with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. I still feel she will be one of the most important people on the 2016 campaign trail. Her Senate seat is not on the ballot this fall so she will be free to be the Democrats’ best attack dog. She seems to have a particular knack for getting under Donald Trump’s thin skin. The more time he spends attacking her the more he will alienate, women, Native Americans and liberals in general.

The final act was Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. He delivered a speech giving his supporters praise and just enough latitude. Importantly he sincerely endorsed Hillary Clinton and told the nation why if they supported his ideas and ideals they needed to vote for Hillary. Voting for Hillary is not turning your back on Bernie and his principles; it is the only currently available route on the journey to achieve them. With Sanders it was never about him; it was and remains about the ideals he championed. I do not like his use of the word “revolution” but his is certainly a movement.

There are worlds of differences between the Republican and Democratic Conventions. One suppressed expression; the other allowed it. One featured the speech of the runner-up setting up his personal agenda for a 2020 run; the other featured a runner-up who cares more about America than himself.

Sarah saved the day from the standpoint of audio annoyance. Cory set himself up as a contender for the next time he anticipates the Presidency to be open. Bernie’s objective was to save the country he loves.

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