So as any reader of this blog knows, I'm kind of a weirdo. And if you read blog posts where I talk about my youth, especially some of the FLASHBACK posts, you'll really get immersed in my weirdosphere.
When I was a kid, one of the things I was kind of weird about was my eagerness to watch the national conventions each election year. I'm not sure exactly when I started watching, but I can say that I surely remember one of the most memorable ones being the Democratic National Convention of 1976, the one where Jimmy Carter takes the podium and tongue in cheek slickly states jokingly to the delegates while beaming his famous smile, "My name is Jimmy Carter and I'm running for president."
Click here to see a CSPAN archive clip of a news panel show analyzing that convention.
I used to love all the showmanship and posturing. The speeches were bombastic, the proceedings seemed a mix of ritualistic order and euphoric partying. The camera would pan around catching glimpses of delegates in all manner of costume and decorum.
Especially for conventions as early as 1976, when I was but 12 years old, I'm not sure if I fully understood the process of what a convention was and what exactly was actually going on but I think I got the gist of it. I'm sure my parents weren't much help if I even dared ask them any questions regarding it. I'm pretty sure they didn't give a crap as I'm also pretty sure they likely didn't vote. They probably looked at me like I had three heads when I took interest in these things, but by the age of 12 I think they already knew I was an odd duck.
Of the conventions, one of my favorite proceedings, believe it or not, was one of the less entertaining aspects of the televised national conventions to the point where I think the major networks stopped broadcasting them for a time. I'm talking about the Roll Call.
As a lover of geography, and being enthralled by the implied dramatics of a building count of needed delegates to surpass a set level to reach a nomination goal, it was a little bit like an opening ceremony of an Olympics and the Jerry Lewis Telethon mashed together. In my mind, you had the flashy presentation of the representatives of a geopolitical region, showing off by being showy, and a tote board, again, in my head, similar to the one Ed McMahon would beckon to as the strains of Burt Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now" crescendoed, but here not to display "money for the crippled kids," but delegates pledged to the party's selection of their candidate for the presidency. Yes, my headspace is quite weird.
And though in my mind, the Roll Call of the delegates was a procedure that was quite dramatic and entertaining, with fascinating tidbits like some sweaty fat white dude in a straw hat holding a microphone in hand, with fellow delegates standing around him, yelling up to the podium, "Mr. Speaker, the Great State of Iowa, the Hawkeye State, proud producer of millions of bushels of American corn..." To a poor kid in a small mill town in Rhode Island, hearing about all of these faraway states, even in this odd way, made me yearn to one day get out and see this great country for myself.
But the proceedings of my imagination, and those in reality were of course two very different things. In reality, as I mentioned above, the delegate roll call vote had largely been moved to non primetime and network programming pretty much omitted it all together except maybe for the highlight of whatever state was designated to put the candidate selected over the top. And the speeches tended to start to get more procedural as well with only a few highlights here and there over the years, like for instance, a young senator from Illinois selected as the keynote speaker for the 2004 Democratic National Convention who would blow the crowd away with his captivating speech. Of course, I'm talking about then future President, now former President Barack Obama.
Which brings me to last night. O.M.G.!!
I tuned in around 8:00 or so, not realizing that the Roll Call had already commenced. What I was watching was some presentation, featuring delegates on the floor speaking into the microphone with loud, rousing music playing, lights flashing, the whole convention floor energized and bouncing around, dancing, clapping, having a great time, waving signs, and the DJ on the stage goading them on. Then the music shifts and we're on to the next state. Indiana. You see, I came in a little late so I missed the first part. The part where the first few states kicked off this wild idea of orchestrating an enormous LCD visual presentation on the huge stage behind the podium where the speaker stood beckoning the party leaders of each state's contingency to cast their state's votes while the display of the state's name, flag, and key visuals representing the state flashed behind them beautifully and dynamically (although I would notice, later when it came up, that Vermont had whales cresting their tails above a waterline...what? Whales in landlocked Vermont? EDIT: Explained here.) the DJ perfectly synchronized music which I guess each State's delegation had selected to represent itself, and then the delegates designated speakers spoke to the mic. I later had to view the part I missed just as the Georgia delegation had been called when the rapper Lil Jon roused the crowd to get the people a movin'.
Finally, the entertaining roll call of my childhood imagination had become reality.
But then came some speeches. And they were no slouchers in their departments.
The Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff spoke amazingly well, as if he himself had been a politician or otherwise engaged in public speaking all his life, and brought a cheerful tear to everyone's eyes with his heartfelt sharing of his life with his wife the Vice President.
Then came Michelle. And well, doesn't she always hit it out the park every single time she steps up to a microphone? And as always, she didn't disappoint. My favorite quote was when she, with a perfect quizzical look on her face asked her audience if the job that Donald Trump is seeking might perhaps be "one of those Black jobs?"
And follow up after, as hard as that may be, her hubby did a mighty fine job. The former president joked that he hadn't, as you can see, he said, hardly aged at all since he accepted his own nomination back in 2008. Of course he has a few more gray hairs on his head, but as his speech very well proves, he is still just as sharp-witted and on point as he was back then. My favorite quote: He reminded the crowd of one of Donald Trump's heinous acts and the crowd booed to which he quickly rebuked, "Do not boo, VOTE!"