Dan Rather: “It is no secret that I have seen a few things, been around not just the block but the whole damn city. I can tell you all about national political conventions. I’ve covered 32 of them, going back to 1960. Here’s my takeaway from Chicago 2024: It wasn’t just well done, it was a spectacularly produced event. Frankly, I can’t recall a convention that went off this smoothly or looked this good.
In big games, you always hope your best players will be in top form. In Chicago, all the big Democrats showed up, ready to play. From the old-school Dems (the Obamas and the Clintons) to the new kids on the block (Governor Walz and the party’s bench of young, rising stars), the speeches were spot on. That was especially true for the newly minted nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris’s address was one of the more impressive acceptance speeches I have heard. Most nominees in the modern era have months or longer to prepare for the biggest night of their political lives. Harris pulled it off with 30 days notice.
For all of the stagecraft wizardry, her speech needed to be everything all at once, a high-wire act with no net. What she said and how she said it could mean the difference between winning and losing.”