First Read: “Given all of the news here in Philadelphia, perhaps Monday’s biggest news was about Colorado — in the Clinton campaign’s decision to pull down its TV ads there, because it feels confident enough about its standing versus Trump in that battleground state. The campaign, however, will continue to advertise in eight other states – Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.”
You Can’t Make It Up
Playbook: “Donald Trump’s campaign emailed Politico asking to order ‘Politico Magazine with Mr. Trump on the cover. Appreciate the help!’ Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has blacklisted Politico and refuses to allow us entry into any campaign events.”
Quote of the Day
“To the the ‘Bernie or Bust’ people: You’re being ridiculous.”
— Sarah Silverman, quoted by the Daily Beast.
Michelle Obama Steals the Show
Politico: “Over the years, much has been made of the first lady’s animosity toward both Clintons (mostly fiction, with a soupçon of fact), a vestige of the bitter 2008 campaign. But on Monday night Michelle Obama delivered a more passionate and concise case for Clinton than the candidate has ever made for herself — and perhaps the single most effective political address delivered in 2016.”
New York Times: “In her speech, Mrs. Obama roused the convention hall into a frenzy by denouncing Donald J. Trump without ever using his name. She mocked his frequent use of Twitter, called him thin-skinned and questioned whether he has any real knowledge of policy. And she forcefully urged the audience and the television viewers to reject Mr. Trump’s campaign motto, casting it as a cynical description of a country in crisis that she does not recognize.”
The Fix: “An absolute home run. Period. It will be difficult for anyone in the next three days to deliver a better speech than the first lady did on Monday night.”
Sanders Has Trouble Quieting His Supporters
New York Times: “Revolutions rarely end quietly. It was a lesson that Mr. Sanders seemed to absorb on live national television, with his face betraying surprise and his wagging finger pleading for peace, while his backers shouted over him at a Center City rally on Monday afternoon. ‘We want Bernie!’ they screamed, when he explained his endorsement of Mrs. Clinton.”
“Mr. Sanders appealed for unity, mentioning Mrs. Clinton’s name 15 times in his speech late Monday, and declaring that ‘Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States.'”
“But his most loyal supporters were hungry for more combat.”
Politico: “Even Bernie wasn’t Bernie enough to tame Bernie’s revolution.”
Tracker Shows No Bounce for Trump
The NBC News/SurveyMonkey tracking poll shows that Donald Trump received no significant bounce following the Republican National Convention. Hillary Clinton still leads Trump by a single point: 46% to 45%. These numbers are unchanged from last week.
Is Putin Trying to Meddle in the U.S. Election?
New York Times: “Now the question has emerged in the United States election campaign whether Mr. Putin has opted — directly or covertly — to throw Russia’s support behind Mr. Trump. The conclusion by cybersecurity experts that Russian intelligence agencies breached the Democratic National Committee and released thousands of emails on the eve of the party’s convention prompted accusations from Democrats and some Republicans that Mr. Trump was a kind of ‘Siberian candidate,’ bolstered from abroad to undermine the nation.”
Time: “If the Kremlin has indeed begun interfering in the presidential race on Trump’s behalf, the bad blood between Putin and Clinton would seem like enough of a motivation. Putin’s list of grievances goes back a lot further than Clinton’s alleged support for the Russian protest movement.”
Grayson’s Ex-wife Claims Domestic Abuse
“Rep. Alan Grayson’s (D-FL) ex-wife repeatedly went to police with accusations of domestic abuse over a two-decade period, according to documents she has provided to Politico, revelations that come as the Florida congressman enters the final weeks of his Democratic primary campaign for Senate.”
Colbert on Night One of the Democratic Convention
“In an unprecedented show of bias, the Democrats threw their weight behind the registered Democrat.”
Quote of the Day
“Bernie basically fed us a bunch of Mountain Dew and now he wants us to go to bed. It’s not going to happen.”
— A Democratic delegate from Iowa, quoted by the Des Moines Register.
DNC Apologizes to Sanders and His Supporters
The Democratic National Committee is offering its “deep and sincere apology” to Bernie Sanders, his supporters and the entire party for what it calls “the inexcusable remarks made over email,” the AP reports.
“The statement from incoming interim party leader, Donna Brazile, and six other officials says the comments in the emails ‘do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process.’ The statement wasn’t signed by the outgoing DNC head, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.”
Democratic National Convention: Monday
Democrats will try to move past the controversy of their ousted party chair with speeches from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Michelle Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Politico: “Trouble started early Monday, when Wasserman Schultz’s debut at the convention proved disastrous… There were also signs that Sanders’ supporters will not be accepting Clinton’s nomination quietly — and that Sanders’ camp was not actively trying to shut down some disturbances.”
Add your own observations in the comments.
FBI Suspects Russia of Trying to Help Trump
“The FBI suspects that Russian government hackers breached the networks of the Democratic National Committee and stole emails that were posted to the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks on Friday. It’s an operation that several U.S. officials now suspect was a deliberate attempt to influence the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump,” the Daily Beast reports.
“The theory that Moscow orchestrated the leaks to help Trump, who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and practically called for the end of NATO, is fast gaining currency within the Obama administration because of the timing of the leaks and Trump’s own connections to the Russian government, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing and developing quickly.”
Convention Dispatch: Will Emotional Trump Rational?
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Sanders Urges Booing Supporters to Back Clinton
“Hundreds of supporters of Bernie Sanders drowned out the Vermont senator with boos Monday as he tried to make the case on the first day of the Democratic National Convention that his fans would need to vote for Hillary Clinton in order to defeat Donald J. Trump.” the New York Times reports.
“At a meeting filled with Sanders delegates, Mr. Sanders tried to convince those gathered that Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was dangerous and a threat to the Constitution and that, as a result, they needed to vote for Mrs. Clinton… However, his words were immediately met with loud boos which lasted several seconds even as he tried to continue his speech. The senator then paused and waited for people to quiet down. But as he spoke, many continued to sign loudly and shake their heads.”
Right Track/Wrong Track Question Is Complicated
Amy Walter: “Another long-standing rule in politics is that it’s hard for the incumbent party to win if Americans think the country is ‘headed in the wrong direction.’ However, for the last 10 years a majority of voters have said they think the country is on the wrong track. President Obama won re-election in 2012, despite the fact that the ‘wrong track’ number averaged between 57-65 percent from 2010 to 2012. Moreover, the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found Obama at 51 percent job approval, even as the wrong direction number jumped 21 points.”
“People are unhappy. But, that doesn’t mean that they are unhappy about the same thing. Or, that they blame the same person/organization/things. This is the tight wire act for Clinton to perform. She needs to acknowledge the anxiety/anger/frustration out there, while also putting forth an agenda that people believe is both appealing and do-able. A ‘we’re all in this together’ message is a tough sell when so many Americans believe that major institutions from Wall Street to government to big business are ‘rigged’ against them.”
The Agenda Mover
The looks good: The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea Is Not Enough by Samuel Bacharach.
Why Sanders Hold Outs are a Problem for Clinton
“New data and analysis shared with FiveThirtyEight from Catalist and SurveyMonkey shows that, before the 2016 primaries, Sanders’s supporters voted less frequently than other 2016 voters, and they were less reliably Democratic than Clinton supporters. In other words, it’s not a matter of Clinton simply coaxing Sanders supporters back into the fold — many were never in the fold to begin with. That could increase the difficulty of the task facing Clinton.”
