Democratic National Convention: 5 Surprising Moments from Opening Night

PHILADELPHIA — Bernie Sanders appeared before the California delegation on Tuesday morning with a message: “In my view, it is easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face who would be living under a Donald Trump presidency.”

On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, the story that dominated the media coverage was the discord among supporters of Sanders.

“Our immediate task, what we must do, or we will forever look back in regret, is to beat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said, as some cheers and boos were heard in the breakfast, which took on the atmosphere of a rally, and difficult it has been for his backers to warm to Clinton even in the face of his own admonishments.

The fissures in the party were well known doing in to the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, but what was a surprise was that they would spill out in the open so quickly, even during a benediction prayer. But the tenor subsided a bit as the convention hit primetime, particularly when First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage and gave a speech heavy on inspiration from her own personal experience and on her outlook for Clinton.

Here are the most surprising moments of the the first day:

Delegate discord. In the morning, California Sanders delegates jeered House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s the mention of Clinton. In the early afternoon, thousands of Sanders supporters marched down Philadelphia’s Broad Street. In the late afternoon, some in the California delegation got into open arguments as they lined up for buses to take them to the Wells Fargo Center.

Still, the open displays of anti-Hillary sentiments were still surprising if only because modern conventions have been such heavily prepared and scripted productions. The opening hours of the Republican National Convention also had tumult, but many in the media thought that there would be a smoother ride for the Democrats, particularly after Sanders endorsed the presumptive nominee earlier this month.

This undoubtedly will be a media theme of the week — whether there can be a plausible claim to unity by Thursday night.

Another way of looking at it, from the standpoint of Clinton backers, is that it is better to have this happen at the start of the week rather than the end. Many are already frustrated at the media for fixating on Bernie backers given that Clinton’s delegates represent a majority in the arena.

Former California Governor Gray Davis, on the floor of the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, said that the boos from Sanders supporters even for Sanders himself have to be put into perspective.

“Don’t think that if he gets booed tonight that the country is booing,” he said. “Some of the delegates who feel Bernie should be president love the man, and are trying to show their support for him, and that is how they are going to do it.”

As it turned out, by the time that Sanders took the stage, the worst of the jeers was over.

Dennis Kucinich, whose presidential bids were a precursor to the Sanders campaign, said that “this convention will give Democrats a chance to unite, but the recent revelations at the DNC will make it a little more difficult to close that deal and make it happen. It puts more of a burden on Hillary Clinton to find a path to unite the party.”

He added, “Anything’s possible, but the fact that a concerted effort was made not just Bernie Sanders but an entire movement, is not going to be easily handled.”

Sarah Silverman: The comic endorsed Sanders last summer, when she appeared at a rally that filled the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. So it was an inspired idea to pair her with a former comedian, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). As she tried to explain why she was now supporting Clinton, the chants of “Bernie! Bernie!” continued, to the point where Silverman said, “To the Bernie or Bust crowd, you’re being ridiculous.”

That’s one way to try to quiet them down.

Michelle Obama. The first lady was long scheduled to speak on this night, but what was different was how the tenor shifted so quickly in the Wells Fargo Center arena once she took the stage.

Even when she made the case for Clinton, there was little if any chanting from the Sanders delegates,

“Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States,” she said, a moment that connected her and her husband’s history making legacy to that of the presumptive nominee.

Paul Simon. Simon came on stage and said nothing political, but simply sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” It was fitting for the evening, but his appearance also was kept under wraps until late Monday afternoon. It also signaled that for all of Trump’s talk of producing a convention that was more “showbiz,” on day one the Democrats, with the benefit of lopsided support in Hollywood, are already actually doing it.

Logistics. Reporters who attended the Cleveland convention last week have come to Philadelphia and have received a rude awakening: They didn’t know how great they had it in Ohio.

The problem with Philadelphia is the convention is not actually in downtown Philadelphia: It is five miles away, in a cluster of sports venues well detached from neighborhoods of restaurants, hotels and nightspots. That forced convention goers to plot the best way of getting there in time for the opening gavel, but what they faced once they got there was a security perimeter about a half mile from the Wells Fargo Center itself. Once inside, they had to navigate a rather confusing set of concourses and corridors.

Then there is the weather — 97 degrees on Monday, with high humidity. Only an evening lightening storm seemed to give a tad bit of relief.

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