Charlotte —It must have been an oversight when Democrats initially omitted God from their platform. After all, speakers in the big hall have treated the stage like a pulpit and taken turns spewing fire and brimstone at Satan, er, the GOP.
A former worker at a Bain-owned company said Mitt Romney has “no moral compass.” A nun called Paul Ryan’s budget “immoral” and said, “We are better than them.” She got a standing ovation, which tells you all you need to know about the delegates’ idea of bipartisanship.
But God is back in the platform now, which would count as a major news event if Republicans ever made that mistake. Then again, they never would.
The detour also included a platform repair on Jerusalem, which had disappeared altogether. It is now again “the capital of Israel,” as it was in the 2008 policy statement. Remember when Democrats were the pro-Israel party and didn’t need to be shamed into standing up for our threatened ally?
These events count as evidence of how hard and far the party has turned left since Bill Clinton’s presidency, and underscored the tension surrounding his appearance last night.
Their mutual animosities notwithstanding, Obama wanted Clinton back because he is in trouble. He could have put Hillary on the ticket, but opted for a big Bubba moment in hopes he would help win over independents and moderate Dems concerned about the economy and the deficit.
Clinton didn’t disappoint. He quickly dispelled any doubts that he was all in by calling the Republican vision “an alternative universe” and said, “We Democrats think the country works better with a strong middle class.”
He released his inner policy wonk to give a detailed defense of Obama’s policies on everything from the auto bailouts to health care to tax hikes. In the process, he put a better spin on Obama’s record than the incumbent himself. He also tore apart the GOP reform plans on Medicare with a relish, his passion proving him more than a good soldier.
The rousing endorsement from Obama’s most important surrogate surely will be spliced and diced into campaign ads in the swing states. And when Obama emerged to embrace Clinton on the stage afterward, the party seemed fully united and fired up.
If there was an embedded Clinton challenge, it was his praise of various Republican presidents, starting with Dwight Eisenhower, for integrating Arkansas schools, and ending with George W. Bush, for his commitment to combating AIDS in Africa. He extolled not only the virtues but the necessity of bipartisan cooperation.
That perspective echoes Obama’s 2008 promise, but stands in stark contrast to his conduct in office and the mood of the convention and campaign.
In that sense, Clinton’s hailing of the enemy made him an outlier in a party that is living down to the stereotype of being a collection of angry special-interest groups. Salutes to women, Latinos, unions and young people do not comprise a national appeal so much as a government dedicated to giving away the store to supporters who are being told to believe the system is rigged against them, and, therefore, owes them something.
The cultural implications are abundant and troubling. A video about Detroit featured a woman who described her unemployment check as a “paycheck.” And what does it say that Sandra Fluke, famous only for being picked on by Rush Limbaugh, got a better speaking spot than female Democratic senators? The emergence of a victim-turned-celebrity seemed a natural fit.
Placards, signs even media credentials around the hall all carried the slogan “Americans Coming Together.” It’s a nice thought, but somebody forgot to invite the other half of the country. You know, the half that pays the bills.