GOP Convention Lowest In Viewers Of Last 8 Conventions

The chart above is from Axios.com. It shows the Nielsen figures for the viewership of the last four Democratic and Republican convention.

The number of viewers who watched both conventions this year is significantly lower than in previous years. The Democratic convention had 5.2 million fewer viewers than in 2016. The Republican convention had 8.4 million fewer viewers than in 2016.

On the most important night, the last day when the presidential nominees give their acceptance speech, about 800,000 more people watched Biden's speech than watched Trump's speech.

Biden Keeps Lead Post-Convention - Increases Favorability

The chart above is from the CBS News / YouGov Poll -- done between August 20th and 22nd of a national sample of 957 registered voters, with a 3.7 point margin of error.

It shows that Joe Biden continues to lead Donald Trump by about 10 points. That's about the same as it was before the convention.

That's probably because most voters have already made up their minds on whether to give Trump another four years or not -- and a majority are ready to kick him out of office.

But as the charts below show, while the convention may not have changed the race electorally, it has increased the voters favorable rating of Joe Biden. It is making voters feel better about their choice to vote for Biden. Before the convention, Biden had a 5 point advantage in favorability (40% to 35%). After the convention, he has a 13 point advantage in favorability (45% to 32%).

The convention also improved the favorability rating of Kamala Harris. She had a 4 point advantage over Pence before the convention. After the convention, that advantage has grown to 11 points.

The charts below are from the ABC News / Ipsos Poll -- done on August 21st and 22nd of a national sample of 714 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

No Convention Bump For Biden - But He leads By 9 Points

The chart above is from the Morning Consult Poll. It shows the numbers for Biden and Trump before the Democratic Convention (July) and after it (August). Roughly 2,000 registered voters were queried each time, with a 2 point margin of error.

The polls show that Joe Biden didn't get much of a convention "bump". He was leading by 8 points before the convention, and is leading by 9 points now. In comparison, Hillary Clinton got a 3 point bump in 2016.

However, Biden has a much larger lead than Clinton had in 2016.

This does not surprise me. This is a different election. It's not really a choice between candidates, but just a referendum on Donald Trump. Do the voters want to give him another four years, or kick him out of the White House? Frankly, I think nearly all voters have already made up their minds about that, and I doubt the numbers will change in the next couple of months. I don't expect Trump to get a convention bump either.

Historian Jon Meacham Says We Must Save The Soul Of U.S.

One of the more interesting speeches at the Democratic National Convention was given by presidential historian Jon Meacham (pictured).

Meacham has written about both Democrats and Republicans, and has said he has voted for both parties in the past -- although he doesn't usually make his politics public. But he has stepped forward to support to support Joe Biden this year, because he feels it is important to put a decent man back in our White House -- one who will bend the "moral arc" toward justice.

He said:


I AM HISTORIAN JOHN MEACHAM. 

IN HIS FINAL SUNDAY SERMON, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SAID WE ARE TIED TOGETHER IN A SINGLE GARMENT OF DESTINY. THIS ISTHE WAY GOD'S UNIVERSE IS MADE, THIS IS THE WAY IT IS STRUCTURED. A SINGLE GARMENT OF DESTINY. 

WE THE PEOPLE CANNOT ESCAPE THAT REALITY. NOR CAN YOU AND I ESCAPE HISTORY. WE SHOULD NOT WANT TO. MANY OF US HAVE BEEN GIVEN MUCH, LIBERTY, OPPORTUNITY, A SENSE OF POSSIBILITY. THE TASK OF OUR TIME IS TO MAKE SURE THOSE ARE AVAILABLE NOT JUST TO PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME BUT TO ALL OF US. 

THIS IS A GRAVE MOMENT IN AMERICA. A DEADLY VIRUS IS RAVAGING US. OUR JOBS ARE EVAPORATING. OUR DEMOCRACY IS UNDER ASSAULT FROM AN INCUMBENT MORE INTERESTED IN HIMSELF THAN HE IS THE REST OF US. EXTREMISM, NATIVISM, ISOLATIONISM AND A LACK OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR WORKING PEOPLE ARE ALL PREVENTING US FROM REALIZING OUR NATION'S PROMISE. 

WE MUST DECIDE WHETHER WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE PRISONERS OF THE DARKNESS OF AMERICAN FORCES OR IF WE WILL FREE OURSELVES TO WRITE A BRIGHTER, BETTER, MORE NOBLE STORY. THAT IS THE ISSUE OF THIS ELECTION. A CHOICE THAT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE NATURE AND THE SOUL OF AMERICA. 

HUMANKIND HAS VIEWED THE SOUL AS THE ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE. THE SOUL IS WHAT MAKES US US. AMERICA'S SOUL WAS ANIMATED BY THE PROPOSITION THAT WE ARE ALL CREATED EQUAL AND BY THE IMPERATIVE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE TREATED EQUALLY. 

YET AMERICA IS A MIX OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, SENECA FALLS AND STONEWALL DWELL IN THE AMERICAN SOUL BUT SO DO THE IMPULSES THAT HAVE GIVEN US SLAVERY, SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION. WE OFTEN PREFER TO HEAR THE TRUMPET RATHER THAN FACE THE TRAGEDIES. AN HONEST ACCOUNTING OF WHO WE HAVE BEEN CAN ENABLE US TO SEE WHO WE SHOULD BE, 

A COUNTRY DRIVEN BY THE BEST PARTS OF OUR SOUL, NOT BY THE WORST, A COUNTRY INFORMED BY REGION -- REASON AND CANDOR, NOT EGO AND LIES. A COUNTRY THAT IS BIGHEARTED, NOT NARROW MINDED. 

THE STRUGGLE TO BE WHO WE OUGHT TO BE IS DIFFICULT, DEMANDING AND ONGOING. JUSTICE CAN BE ELUSIVE AND PAIN IN AMERICA HAS BEEN PROVISIONAL. THE CIVIL WAR LED TO SEGREGATION. HISTORY WHICH WILL SURELY BE OUR JUDGE CAN ALSO BE OUR GUIDE. FROM HARRIET TUBMAN TO ELLIS PAUL TO JOHN LEWIS, FROM THE BEACHES OF NORMANDY TO THE RENDERING OF THE IRON CURTAIN, OUR STORY HAS SOARED WHEN WE BUILD BRIDGES, NOT WALLS, WHEN WE LENT A HAND, NOT WHEN WE POINTED FINGERS. WHEN WE HAVE HOPED, NOT FEARED. 

IF WE LIVE IN HOPE, WE OPEN OUR SOULS TO THE POWER OF LOVE, WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS OURSELVES, AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A NATION, WE FAIL AT FOLLOWING THAT COMMANDMENT MORE OFTEN THEN WE SUCCEED. BUT WHEN WE FAIL, WE MUST TRY AGAIN AND AGAIN FOR ONLY IN TRIAL IS PROGRESS POSSIBLE. 

FROM JAMESTOWN FORWARD, OUR STORY HAS BECOME MORE FULL AND FAIR BECAUSE OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE THE CONVICTION THAT DR. KING ARTICULATED ON THAT SUNDAY HALF A CENTURY AGO. THE ARK OF THE MORAL UNIVERSE IS LONG BUT IT BENDS TOWARD JUSTICE. IT REQUIRES A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WITH EMPATHY, GRACE, A BIG HEART AND AN OPEN MIND. 

JOE BIDEN WILL BE SUCH A PRESIDENT. WITH OUR VOICES AND OUR VOTES, LET US WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN STORY. ONE OF HOPE, LOVE, JUSTICE. IF WE DO SO, WE MIGHT JUST SAVE OUR COUNTRY AND OUR SOULS.

Obama's Convention Speech (A Warning To Americans)

On Wednesday night, President Barack Obama spoke to Americans from the virtual Democratic Convention.

He praised Joe Biden and made it clear Biden has his support for the presidential race.

But then he did something else. He addressed the seriousness of this election -- warning Americans that nothing less than the survival of our democratic form of government is at stake in this election.

The following, from CNN, is a transcript of Obama's speech.

Good evening, everybody. As you've seen by now, this isn't a normal convention. It's not a normal time. So tonight, I want to talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come.

I'm in Philadelphia, where our Constitution was drafted and signed. It wasn't a perfect document. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women -- and even men who didn't own property -- the right to participate in the political process. But embedded in this document was a North Star that would guide future generations; a system of representative government -- a democracy -- through which we could better realize our highest ideals. Through civil war and bitter struggles, we improved this Constitution to include the voices of those who'd once been left out. And gradually, we made this country more just, more equal, and more free.

The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So at minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us -- regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have -- or who we voted for.

But we should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for; fought for and died for.

I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president. I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.

But he never did. For close to four years now, he's shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.

Now, I know that in times as polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind. But maybe you're still not sure which candidate you'll vote for -- or whether you'll vote at all. Maybe you're tired of the direction we're headed, but you can't see a better path yet, or you just don't know enough about the person who wants to lead us there.

So let me tell you about my friend Joe Biden.

Twelve years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn't know I'd end up finding a brother. Joe and I came from different places and different generations. But what I quickly came to admire about him is his resilience, born of too much struggle; his empathy, born of too much grief. Joe's a man who learned -- early on -- to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity, living by the words his parents taught him: "No one's better than you, Joe, but you're better than nobody."

That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts -- that's who Joe is.

When he talks with someone who's lost her job, Joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he'd lost his.

When Joe listens to a parent who's trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as the single dad who took the train back to Wilmington each and every night so he could tuck his kids into bed.

When he meets with military families who've lost their hero, he does it as a kindred spirit; the parent of an American soldier; somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss there is.

For eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. He made me a better president -- and he's got the character and the experience to make us a better country.

And in my friend Kamala Harris, he's chosen an ideal partner who's more than prepared for the job; someone who knows what it's like to overcome barriers and who's made a career fighting to help others live out their own American dream.

Along with the experience needed to get things done, Joe and Kamala have concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality.

They'll get this pandemic under control, like Joe did when he helped me manage H1N1 and prevent an Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores.

They'll expand health care to more Americans, like Joe and I did ten years ago when he helped craft the Affordable Care Act and nail down the votes to make it the law.

They'll rescue the economy, like Joe helped me do after the Great Recession. I asked him to manage the Recovery Act, which jumpstarted the longest stretch of job growth in history. And he sees this moment now not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long-overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody -- whether it's the waitress trying to raise a kid on her own, or the shift worker always on the edge of getting laid off, or the student figuring out how to pay for next semester's classes.

Joe and Kamala will restore our standing in the world -- and as we've learned from this pandemic, that matters. Joe knows the world, and the world knows him. He knows that our true strength comes from setting an example the world wants to follow. A nation that stands with democracy, not dictators. A nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like climate change, terrorism, poverty, and disease.

But more than anything, what I know about Joe and Kamala is that they actually care about every American. And they care deeply about this democracy.

They believe that in a democracy, the right to vote is sacred, and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballot, not harder.

They believe that no one -- including the president -- is above the law, and that no public official -- including the president -- should use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters.

They understand that in this democracy, the Commander-in-Chief doesn't use the men and women of our military, who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation, as political props to deploy against peaceful protesters on our own soil. They understand that political opponents aren't "un-American" just because they disagree with you; that a free press isn't the "enemy" but the way we hold officials accountable; that our ability to work together to solve big problems like a pandemic depends on a fidelity to facts and science and logic and not just making stuff up.

None of this should be controversial. These shouldn't be Republican principles or Democratic principles. They're American principles. But at this moment, this president and those who enable him, have shown they don't believe in these things.

Tonight, I am asking you to believe in Joe and Kamala's ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better. But here's the thing: no single American can fix this country alone. Not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional -- you give me your vote; I make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. So I am also asking you to believe in your own ability -- to embrace your own responsibility as citizens -- to make sure that the basic tenets of our democracy endure.

Because that's what at stake right now. Our democracy.

Look, I understand why many Americans are down on government. The way the rules have been set up and abused in Congress make it easy for special interests to stop progress. Believe me, I know. I understand why a white factory worker who's seen his wages cut or his job shipped overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him, and why a Black mother might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there's still a place for him here; why a young person might look at politics right now, the circus of it all, the meanness and the lies and crazy conspiracy theories and think, what's the point?

Well, here's the point: this president and those in power -- those who benefit from keeping things the way they are -- they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can't win you over with their policies. So they're hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn't matter. That's how they win. That's how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That's how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That's how a democracy withers, until it's no democracy at all.

We can't let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don't let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you're going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what Americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this -- all those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice.

Last month, we lost a giant of American democracy in John Lewis. Some years ago, I sat down with John and the few remaining leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement. One of them told me he never imagined he'd walk into the White House and see a president who looked like his grandson. Then he told me that he'd looked it up, and it turned out that on the very day that I was born, he was marching into a jail cell, trying to end Jim Crow segregation in the South.

What we do echoes through the generations.

Whatever our backgrounds, we're all the children of Americans who fought the good fight. Great grandparents working in firetraps and sweatshops without rights or representation. Farmers losing their dreams to dust. Irish and Italians and Asians and Latinos told to go back where they came from. Jews and Catholics, Muslims and Sikhs, made to feel suspect for the way they worshipped. Black Americans chained and whipped and hanged. Spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters. Beaten for trying to vote.

If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work, and could not work, it was those Americans. Our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. They knew how far the daily reality of America strayed from the myth. And yet, instead of giving up, they joined together and said somehow, some way, we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words, in our founding documents, to life.

I've seen that same spirit rising these past few years. Folks of every age and background who packed city centers and airports and rural roads so that families wouldn't be separated. So that another classroom wouldn't get shot up. So that our kids won't grow up on an uninhabitable planet. Americans of all races joining together to declare, in the face of injustice and brutality at the hands of the state, that Black Lives Matter, no more, but no less, so that no child in this country feels the continuing sting of racism.

To the young people who led us this summer, telling us we need to be better -- in so many ways, you are this country's dreams fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth. For you, it's a given -- a conviction. And what I want you to know is that for all its messiness and frustrations, your system of self-government can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions.

You can give our democracy new meaning. You can take it to a better place. You're the missing ingredient -- the ones who will decide whether or not America becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed.

That work will continue long after this election. But any chance of success depends entirely on the outcome of this election. This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win. So we have to get busy building it up -- by pouring all our effort into these 76 days, and by voting like never before -- for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for -- today and for all our days to come.

Stay safe. God bless.

Transcript Of Michelle Obama's Convention Speech

The following (from CNN) is the transcript of Michelle Obama's powerful and moving speech to Americans from the online Democratic Convention:

Good evening, everyone. It's a hard time, and everyone's feeling it in different ways. And I know a lot of folks are reluctant to tune into a political convention right now or to politics in general. Believe me, I get that. But I am here tonight because I love this country with all my heart, and it pains me to see so many people hurting.

I've met so many of you. I've heard your stories. And through you, I have seen this country's promise. And thanks to so many who came before me, thanks to their toil and sweat and blood, I've been able to live that promise myself.

That's the story of America. All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their kids.

There's a lot of beauty in that story. There's a lot of pain in it, too, a lot of struggle and injustice and work left to do. And who we choose as our president in this election will determine whether or not we honor that struggle and chip away at that injustice and keep alive the very possibility of finishing that work.

I am one of a handful of people living today who have seen firsthand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency. And let me once again tell you this: the job is hard. It requires clear-headed judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen—and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth.

A president's words have the power to move markets. They can start wars or broker peace. They can summon our better angels or awaken our worst instincts. You simply cannot fake your way through this job.

As I've said before, being president doesn't change who you are; it reveals who you are. Well, a presidential election can reveal who we are, too. And four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn't matter. Maybe they were fed up. Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn't be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep. Whatever the reason, in the end, those choices sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 votes.

In one of the states that determined the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct—two votes. And we've all been living with the consequences.

When my husband left office with Joe Biden at his side, we had a record-breaking stretch of job creation. We'd secured the right to health care for 20,000,000 people. We were respected around the world, rallying our allies to confront climate change. And our leaders had worked hand-in-hand with scientists to help prevent an Ebola outbreak from becoming a global pandemic.

Four years later, the state of this nation is very different. More than 150,000 people have died, and our economy is in shambles because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long. It has left millions of people jobless. Too many have lost their health care; too many are struggling to take care of basic necessities like food and rent; too many communities have been left in the lurch to grapple with whether and how to open our schools safely. Internationally, we've turned our back, not just on agreements forged by my husband, but on alliances championed by presidents like Reagan and Eisenhower.

And here at home, as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and a never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered, stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation's highest office.

Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.

Empathy: that's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. The ability to walk in someone else's shoes; the recognition that someone else's experience has value, too. Most of us practice this without a second thought. If we see someone suffering or struggling, we don't stand in judgment. We reach out because, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." It is not a hard concept to grasp. It's what we teach our children.

And like so many of you, Barack and I have tried our best to instill in our girls a strong moral foundation to carry forward the values that our parents and grandparents poured into us. But right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another. They're looking around wondering if we've been lying to them this whole time about who we are and what we truly value.

They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see people calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the color of their skin. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good, and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn't matter what happens to everyone else. And they see what happens when that lack of empathy is ginned up into outright disdain.

They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protestors for a photo-op.

Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation. A nation that's underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character. And that's not just disappointing; it's downright infuriating, because I know the goodness and the grace that is out there in households and neighborhoods all across this nation.

And I know that regardless of our race, age, religion, or politics, when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts, we know that what's going on in this country is just not right. This is not who we want to be.

So what do we do now? What's our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, "When others are going so low, does going high still really work?" My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that's drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.

But let's be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we've got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.

And going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free: the cold hard truth.

So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

Now, I understand that my message won't be heard by some people. We live in a nation that is deeply divided, and I am a Black woman speaking at the Democratic Convention. But enough of you know me by now. You know that I tell you exactly what I'm feeling. You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. You know how much I care about all of our children.

So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don't make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.

I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who's lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.

When he was a kid, Joe's father lost his job. When he was a young senator, Joe lost his wife and his baby daughter. And when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. So Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents. Joe knows what it's like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number to kids overcoming a stutter of their own.

His life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward.

Now, Joe is not perfect. And he'd be the first to tell you that. But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president. And his ability to learn and grow—we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for right now. Because Joe Biden has served this nation his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is; but more than that, he has never lost sight of who we are, all of us.

Joe Biden wants all of our kids to go to a good school, see a doctor when they're sick, live on a healthy planet. And he's got plans to make all of that happen. Joe Biden wants all of our kids, no matter what they look like, to be able to walk out the door without worrying about being harassed or arrested or killed. He wants all of our kids to be able to go to a movie or a math class without being afraid of getting shot. He wants all our kids to grow up with leaders who won't just serve themselves and their wealthy peers but will provide a safety net for people facing hard times.

And if we want a chance to pursue any of these goals, any of these most basic requirements for a functioning society, we have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. Because right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting. They're closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They're purging voter rolls. They're sending people out to intimidate voters, and they're lying about the security of our ballots. These tactics are not new.

But this is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We've got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden. We've got to vote early, in person if we can. We've got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they're received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same.

We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we've got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.

Look, we have already sacrificed so much this year. So many of you are already going that extra mile. Even when you're exhausted, you're mustering up unimaginable courage to put on those scrubs and give our loved ones a fighting chance. Even when you're anxious, you're delivering those packages, stocking those shelves, and doing all that essential work so that all of us can keep moving forward.

Even when it all feels so overwhelming, working parents are somehow piecing it all together without child care. Teachers are getting creative so that our kids can still learn and grow. Our young people are desperately fighting to pursue their dreams.

And when the horrors of systemic racism shook our country and our consciences, millions of Americans of every age, every background rose up to march for each other, crying out for justice and progress.

This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth.

So, it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history, echoing heroes like John Lewis who said, "When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something." That is the truest form of empathy: not just feeling, but doing; not just for ourselves or our kids, but for everyone, for all our kids.

And if we want to keep the possibility of progress alive in our time, if we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history. And we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all. God bless.

Madeleine Albright -- Truth Teller

Many people have tried to say that a Romney presidency would be bad for the women of America (including me), but none have said it as plainly and succinctly as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. This is what she told The Huffington Post in an interview last Monday in Charlotte:

"I'm not sure I'm going to state this exactly right. But I think there are some who believe they are actually protecting women, you know, and that it is better for women to be taken care of. I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important. And frankly, I don’t understand -- I mean, I'm obviously a card-carrying Democrat -- but I can't understand why any woman would want to vote for Mitt Romney, except maybe Mrs. Romney."

She then had this to say about Rep. Todd Akin's rape comment:

"It was appalling and disgusting. But if I may say so, the things that he said in one form or another are in the Republican platform. So [while Republicans are] saying he is a nutcase and they have to move away from him, they did not move away from their platform."

Thank Goodness For C-SPAN

Being the political nerd and junkie that I am, I naturally tuned in to watch the beginning of the Democratic National Convention at 4:00pm yesterday. In fact, I've taken the whole week off -- I'm not going to let something as mundane as work interfere with my politics. But, I made a mistake right off the bat.

I must have experienced a moment of insanity, because I actually tuned in to MSNBC and then CNN. For some reason, I thought they would be showing the convention. But they weren't showing the convention -- they were "covering" the convention, and those are two vastly different things.

It quickly became apparent they were far more interested in talking about the convention than they were in showing the convention to viewers. Even worse, they seemed to delight in bringing Republicans on to bad-mouth the Democrats. When they put on right-wing nutjob Glen Beck, I had to bail out. It became obvious that "fairness" was not going to be a part of their coverage.

Fortunately, I remembered I have cable, and that means I have C-SPAN. I switched over, and that's where my TV will stay until the convention is over. No talking heads -- just the convention from gavel to gavel. The money allocated to C-SPAN is some of the best spending our government has ever done.

For those of us denied a place at the convention, C-SPAN is definitely the next best thing.

UPDATE - I just finished listening to Michelle Obama's speech. It was wonderful. This is one very special lady. She would make a great First Lady.

Should Hillary Be Placed In Nomination ?

The mainstream media has been all abuzz the last couple of days, because Hillary Clinton has made some statements that sound like she would like to see her name placed in nomination at the convention in Denver, and her supporters given the chance to vote for her. The media makes it sound like the Obama campaign would be hurt if that happened.

Frankly, I don't see the big deal. It's no secret that she got nearly 18 million votes, and gave Obama a run for his money in the primary. What's the harm in letting Hillary and her supporters play the game out?

We know who the winner is going to be -- Barack Obama. And we also know that the convention will declare it unanimous once he goes over the top, just like they always do. This wouldn't be the first convention to have more than one name in nomination for the role call of the states.

Come November, Obama is not going to be hurt by allowing this to happen. In fact, he may actually be helped. If the Hillary supporters feel like they were shown some respect, they may find it easier to support Obama after the convention is over.

On Thursday, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama spoke by phone, and it was arranged that Bill would address the convention on Thursday night before the voting for vice-president takes place. Was this an attempt to convince Hillary not to allow her name in nomination? I hope not.

At this point, Obama can afford to be magnanimous. Let Bill speak, and let Hillary have her vote. After that, they will have no excuse not to fully support Obama in the Fall campaign.

Democrats have a tradition to uphold -- a tradition of letting everyone have their say. This is not the time to start acting like Republicans and shut anyone out.

Saturday Session Has Started

They have finally started the saturday session of the convention -- a few minutes late, as is normal for Texas Democrats. They have told us that they will stop the convention and broadcast Hillary Clinton's speech when she starts it. As the convention leaders said, it makes no sense to have thousands of good Democrats miss one of the most important speeches of the year because they are doing the party's work.

They did finally announce the figures for the convention delegates. They were supposed to do it last night, but evidently our state leadership's not very good at math and they needed more time. Here are the figures:

Total Delegates -- 7,239

Obama Delegates -- 4,144 (57.3%)

Clinton Delegates -- 3,088 (42.7%)

Undecided Delegates -- 7

You gotta love those 7 undecided delegates. There's always a few who don't seem to like anyone, even after the nomination has been decided.

I hope this puts to rest the argument over who won Texas. Barack Obama won Texas and has over 57% of her delegates.

Thoughts On Chelsea's Appearance

As most of my readers know, I am an Obama supporter. That's why I was a little disappointed last Tuesday night when Hillary Clinton virtually ignored the fact that Obama now had plenty enough delegates to become the party's presumptive nominee. But Chelsea Clinton appeared at the Texas convention last night and began the process of unification.

Chelsea's speech wasn't very long. In fact, she had three young Democrats give introduction speeches for her, and those speeches were as long as her speech. Put them together, and they were significantly longer.

When she came on stage (and when she left), she received a standing ovation from the crowd. It wasn't just from the Clinton folks either. She was enthusiastically received by the Obama people also. For many Obama supporters, they weren't so much against Clinton. It was just that they had found another candidate that gave them hope for a real change.

Chelsea told the crowd that her mother wanted her to do two things. The first was to make sure the Clinton supporters understood how much she apprecited their efforts during the campaign.

The second was to let everyone know that it was time for all Democrats to unite to elect Barack Obama to the presidency in the Fall. Chelsea was very gracious. There was no hint of bitterness, and I really believe she has started to unify the party here in Texas.

I certainly hope so. We cannot afford even one more year of the Bush-McCain policies, let alone four more years.

At The Muslim Caucus

When the convention broke into caucuses this morning, I decided to go to the Muslim caucus. It just sounded interesting and I didn't figure there would be many people there. I must admit, I was surprised at how many Muslims were chosen to be delegates to this convention.

According to the president of the Muslim caucus, over 120 Muslims were picked to be delegates to the state convention. Most were from the Houston area or the DFW Metroplex, but there were a few others from places like San Antonio, Marshall, Beaumont, and Port Arthur.

Here are a few statistics:

1. Between 2 and 3% of the American population are Muslim. That translates into between 10 and 13 million people.

2. California is the state with the largest Muslim population. About 22% of American Muslims live in California. Texas ranks fourth with about 500,000.

3. Around 83% of American Muslims identify themselves as Democrats. Only about 8% call themselves Republicans. That means the Muslims are as solidly Democratic a group as are African-Americans.

4. But the most moving statistic I heard today was that nearly 15,000 young Muslims are serving our country in the military. They are Americans who love their country and are willing to sacrifice to defend it. Many of them die defending our (and their) country, but when was the last time that was on the evening news?

Muslims dying for America because they are good citizens and love their country, is not a story the media wants to cover. They're far too busy trying to demonize Muslims as all being terrorists and America haters. Never mind that it's simply not true.

All the Muslims I've known have been kind, decent and hard-working people who love their country -- the United States. But too often they're treated as though they were worse than even second-class citizens. It's time for other Americans to stand up for and stand beside these wonderful patriots.

Racism and bigotry are just as bad when practiced against Muslims, as when directed against any other group (especially in a country that prides itself on religious freedom).