The New York Times’s day one wrap of the Democratic convention contains this observation: “Another speaker, Michelle Obama, was far more electrifying, but while she drew affection from the crowd, her remarks did little to heal the lingering primary wounds.”
Consider:
- Polls show about 90 percent of Bernie Sanders supporters are ready for Hillary.
- Reports from inside the convention hall suggest that the heckling was far sparser and quieter in the evening than the afternoon.
- In stark contrast between last week’s GOP kickoff, all the headline speakers were A-list Democrats, including Sanders and fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren, who weren’t afraid to utter the words “Hillary Clinton.”
It is possible, of course, that some number of delegates arrived in Philadelphia disinclined to ever support Clinton, and that Michelle Obama (and the other speakers) converted none of them. But there’s really no way to know. It’s a completely non-substantiable claim. And even if it weren’t, it would remain the case that those delegates are overwhelmingly unrepresentative of Sanders supporters writ large. This reads a lot more like projection or wish fulfillment or a response to the temptation to keep suspense levels high.
You don’t have to pretend everything went perfectly smoothly to keep the level of discord on display in proper perspective, and in proportion to what we observed a week ago.