The Democratic National Convention, albeit unprecedented in its style, met the expectations and needs of its constituency.  A wider swath of voters likely watched from home this year than would have watched at all if it would have been a traditional in-person event held in Milwaukee.  People were intrigued.  I was.   Conventions are a good way to hear from those who are new and energized within the party and those who are well established on core issues.  After all, the world, and the US, are changing fast and social and economic issues are intersecting so readily that business leaders are finally seeing the importance of having a plan to address both.  That’s the pressure of politics and the convention provides a big stage.  It’s an important event.  It’s the starter pistol for when voters begin to really tune in.  Conventions set the stage for victory or failure in November.

While a political event should be expected to be just a bit venomous, the themes of empathy and listening infused most of the speakers’ addresses at the Democratic Convention.  While the goal was to express the need to have “normal” behavior return to the stage, it was intriguing to me that empathy and listening have become the campaign platform.  These are good moral behaviors that voters can relate to, but amazingly they’ve become political touch points.

Party loyalists, cheerleaders and those so notably referred to as the “sticker brigade” usually don’t talk about empathy and listening.  They want to fight and be listened to.  However, I think the Democrats did a great job of stressing the need for normalization of human behavior and made it politically attractive, not just sound bites.  One such speech was Michelle Obama’s. She did a stellar job.  While she talked about her dislike of politics, it was her comments about the credibility of the people we elect. Hers was straightforward. Kamala Harris did a good job too. Most of us don’t understand what she endured in early years as a daughter of an immigrant. But there’s an interesting story to unfold and I look forward to learning more and I think a lot of Americans do too.  While Joe Biden’s speech was devoid of a cheering crowd and fireworks over the Washington Monument, he hit the nail on the head of what’s concerning most Americans.  If you didn’t watch the convention, try to watch the three speaker’s addresses and you’ll get a great taste of where things might head in the coming weeks.

If you get past all the pomp and circumstance, it’s actually interesting to see and learn about the people that we’re electing to office. While it’s a pep rally in its own way, it’s also setting the stage to how the next leader will govern. Will they be an ideolog? A populist?  Or will they throw everything aside and just make decisions because they think they’re making the right ones?   Empathy and listening are good themes and it’ll be interesting to see how the Republican political advisors counter or whether they just ignore these attributes.

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