Democratic National Convention: A step toward ‘Madame President’ | McClatchy Washington Bureau

The Democratic Party made it official Tuesday night, nominating Hillary Clinton, the first woman ever to lead a major national presidential ticket.

Regular Americans and luminaries from the spheres of politics and entertainment took the stage throughout the evening, aiming to bring harmony to the party, extolling the party’s ideological virtues and its chosen standard-bearer, Hillary Clinton.

The headliner, and highlight, of the night was Bill Clinton, who delivered a 43-minute speech that was in turns vehement and intimate, and began, “In the spring of 1971, I met a girl.”

He described their courtship, his marriage proposals (she accepted the third time), and raising a family. He catalogued her career, her drive and accomplishments. He called her “the best darn change-maker” he has ever met.

“The reason you should elect her is that, in the greatest country on Earth, we have always been about tomorrow,” he said. Watch the full speech, here.

There are 104 days until the polls open across the nation.

Today’s reads

▪  On Wednesday, Barack Obama will sweep with an opportunity no president has had in nearly three decades: to help his chosen successor. Why Clinton wants – and needs – his help.

▪  Can Bernie Sanders voters come to trust Hillary Clinton? That question might mean everything.

▪  In case you missed, it the Democrats just became first major party to back pathway to legalizing pot.

▪  Why hasn’t Donald Trump released his tax returns? House Democratic Caucus Chair Xavier Becerra has a theory.

Other news from the convention

On Tuesday, it was South Dakota’s delegates that put Clinton over the 2,382 needed to secure the party’s nomination. But the big moment in the delegate count came at the very end, when Bernie Sanders called on the the party to suspend the party’s rules and affirm her nomination by acclamation.

It was a step toward unity, in a party recently fractured between two candidates.

▪  The Mothers of the Movement, women who lost children to gun violence or in police encounters, took the stage and spoke for Clinton.

▪  Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack survivor Lauren Manning, spoke for Clinton, and so did Rep. Joseph Crowley.

▪  Former President Jimmy Carter spoke, from Georgia.

▪  Actresses Lena Dunham and America Ferrera spoke together. Andra Day sang. And Alicia Keys sang. And Howard Dean relived the scream.| More convention coverage

Stories from elsewhere

▪  Donald Trump’s campaign is saying, no, he never said he would support white supremacist and former KKK leader David Duke, who is running for Senate.

▪  Bill O’Reilly would like to inform Michelle Obama that the slaves who built the White House were “well fed and had decent lodgings.”

Best entrance

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