Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday. It’s day three of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. On the second day, Hillary Clinton officially won the nomination, making history as the first female to ever top a major party ticket in the United States. And after that main order of business was accomplished, the rest of the night was largely devoted to promoting the notion that Clinton has a big heart and would work hard for people who need help. Here’s the Digest:
1.The main salesman for Clinton was her husband, former President Bill Clinton. His task was difficult, to reintroduce someone who has been on the national stage for two and a half decades. His speech started as a long rambling shaggy dog story, retelling how how he met and married his wife. He built up to the notion that even though Hillary Clinton has been around for a long time, she is the “best darn change-maker I have ever known.” He argued that the image presented of her at the Republican convention was a cartoon, and that the real woman is a hard worker who makes everything she works on better. (Washington Post)
2. In another effort to unify the party, it fell to Bernie Sanders to move that the convention nominate Clinton by acclamation (although by the time he did it, all the states had voted). It didn’t necessarily work, as many Sanders supporters walked out of the convention. Still, it was a historic moment 150 years in the making, and most delegates saw it that way. At the end of the night Clinton appeared via video, surrounded by young girls. (NPR)
3. Sen. Al Franken is a popular surrogate for Clinton in Philadelphia, in part because he’s been letting his comedic roots emerge. Since he was elected in 2008 he has gone out of his way not to be perceived as a clown by the national media, but he says the Clinton campaign asked him to use humor to help her, and he agreed. (MPR News)
4.Sen. Amy Klobuchar used a speaking slot at the convention Tuesday night to praise Hillary Clinton for her work against human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls. “When woman are boundand treated as sex slaves, tyrants rule,” Klobuchar said. (Star Tribune)
5. Shortly after Clinton won the nomination a family friend gave the liberal wing of the party yet another reason to doubt that she was with them. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told reporters he expected Clinton to change her position again on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and support it with some changes. The Clinton campaign issued a flat denial, and McAullife tried to walk back the comments. (Politico)
