Democratic Convention Mini-Posts: Day Three

This election cycle, the Democratic Party's National Convention aligns with the beginning of my semester. While I wish I could write more extensive pieces, I suspect I will have to limit myself to shorter reactions and impressions of what I see and hear.

Last night, I was impressed by Senator Clinton's speech -- more than impressed. I won't claim I wasn't worried part way through. After all, it began to appear that she was beginning to give her usual campaign speech. Indeed, she did -- with one exception. She reminded us of why she ran. Then, she reminded her followers that the reason for any campaign is not (and must not) be about the candidate as a person. It must be about the vision that the candidate espouses.

This afternoon, she landed her second hit by moving that Obama be nominated by acclimation. There were only brief flickers when the political mask cracked and it was possible to see how much it cost her to make that movement towards unity.

It was, nevertheless, a historic moment. We now have the first serious African American candidate being pushed over the top by the first serious woman candidate.

Now, we will see if the next big one-two punch lands. Tonight, Senator Biden and President Clinton speak -- two men known for speaking their minds and being able to reach their audiences. In addition to the future of the race for the presidency, the present and future legacies of these men are on the line.

While Biden's speech, given that he is the man who will soon be one heartbeat away from the presidency, may be the more important of the two, President Clinton's speech may be more significant.

There are few men who are more capable than President Clinton of rising to such an occasion. I'm sure if you are reading this, you are going to watch (or have already watched) his speech and are looking forward to seeing it as much as I am.