Present: Hoping for Hope

When Michelle Obama's portrait was unveiled at the National Gallery last month (along with President Obama's), she suggested that girls of color "will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the walls of this great American institution. ... And I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives because I was one of those girls."

Another one of those girls was 2 year old Parker Curry.  When a passing photographer snapped a picture of her transfixed before the portrait (her mother kept asking her to turn around for her own photo but she was rapt) and posted it, it went viral and First Lady Michelle saw it.  That led to a visit to the girl in her Washington home, and a dance.

The portrait itself, by the way, led to this interesting essay/analysis in the New Yorker, which I'm glad I found the opportunity to point out.

Then on Friday several online outlets ran stories of a rumor that both Obamas are talking with Netflik about producing programs for that TV streaming network.  Apparently the New York Times started it all, quoting a source saying that the content might focus on "inspirational stories."  The New York coverage ends with the exhortation "Cross your fingers for Hope TV, everyone." Amen.

                                               *

And there was even a little hope in the news this past week.  The Parkland students got something like a win when the Florida legislature passed and its NRA-beholden governor signed a law that...well, doesn't do a lot, but does something in the gun control area.  Even if the bad stuff outweighs the good in practice, it is significant for doing anything at all.  It's the first defeat of the aggressive absolutism of the NRA, which of course is suing to stop it.

Meanwhile, first evidence shows that the new tax cut law is (1)causing chaos because it's so badly written and (2) having precisely the effect that Democratic opponents said it would: instead of  corporations using the money for raises and more hiring they are buying back their own stock to further enrich themselves.  So no surprise that February numbers show wages going down.

But polling evidence suggests that Republicans are not getting any political benefit from the tiny short-term bump in paychecks the law mandated.  After a brief bump in the polls, the law is now less popular than before it was passed--and it was not very popular then.

Happy Anniversary

President Envy

Valentine's Day photo by Michelle Obama

Mindful of my responsibilities to keep readers informed on the Obamas, I note this piece on their recent activities.

 According to this story, it's a lot of decompress and family, while nudging ahead the next projects: presidential library, memoirs and the effort President Obama announced before he left office, to work on getting Dems elected to state legislatures and state houses in time to prevent the Rs from gerrymandering even more congressional districts to their liking with the 2020 Census.

In this last effort President Obama is getting some backlash help from the apprentice dictator now in the White House, whose regime is prompting huge new interest in Democrats exploring the task of running for office.

Meanwhile Homemade Hitler has been regularly and outrageously attacking President Obama, instead of doing what most new occupants do, which is seek out counsel of former Presidents, especially the most recent.  His vulgar ferocity unmasks his envy.

It reminds me of Richard Nixon's envy and resentment of JFK and the Kennedys in general, including envy and resentment of their popularity, and the affection the American public had for them.  Nixon took it to psychotic levels, feeding the paranoia that sent him down the road now known as Watergate.

Add to that the well-known R disease, the Obama Derangement Syndrome, and Homemade Hitler's blatant delusions of grandeur (claiming inaugural crowds exceeding Obama's when in fact they were clearly a small fraction of either Obama Inaugural, etc.) as well as President Obama's continuing popularity versus the tanking poll numbers for HH, and this could become more than a sideshow.

Diversion of the Day

Meanwhile in New York City, Barack and Michelle Obama brunched with Bono and his daughter at the Upland restaurant, where they were reportedly served--among other dishes--this scrumptious looking cacio e pepe  (recipe is here if you're interested.)

When they left, the President and First Lady got a standing ovation from other diners and cheers from the folks outside.

On Thursday the Obamas lunched at the Italian restaurant Carbone in NYC with daughter Malia.

Looking good and eating Italian food.  Style and good taste!

The Obama Presidency: Breathing Life into the White House

This half-hour edit of the Obamas last interview with two reporters from People magazine is more personal but still in its own way a substantial view of what it all meant.

The End of Fun

Think you'll see anything like this again?  I tried to add President Obama on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Going for Coffee but it was nowhere to be found.  Guess that sort of thing is going to happen a lot.

Thanking Michelle

The First Lady

This is the last official event hosted by Michelle Obama as First Lady.  Besides some under-reported revelations--like the Obama administration making the largest total investment in higher education since the GI Bill immediately after World War II--her passionate championing of diversity, personal freedom, hope and the future in this appearance suggest the innovative efforts she made and the good she did in the White House. This moment is one among many for this beautiful woman in all senses, a woman among women in this video, and why to me she will always be The First Lady.

The Done with Donald Chronicles: Obama's Bet

The Clinton campaign's official end was a monstrous rally in Philadelphia.  Some 40,000 people gathered outside of Independence Hall.  The line to get in reportedly stretched for four miles.

Bruce Springsteen sang. Chelsea Clinton introduced Bill Clinton, who introduced The Closer, Michelle Obama, who made her very incisive pitch, noting again that elections turn on a difference of 15 votes per precinct, and getting 15 voters among friends and family to the polls is a doable number.

Michelle introduced President Obama.  This was in its way a farewell for them, and a chance for the crowd to roar its appreciation.  President Obama recalled the sentiments that made him famous.  Not only following "Yes, We Can" with "Yes, We Did," but hope and change.“I am betting that tomorrow that you will reject fear and choose hope."    

And so President Obama introduced Hillary Clinton, who told the crowd: “So make no mistake, our core values are being tested in this election. We know enough about my opponent — we know who he is. The real question for us is what kind of country we want to be and what kind of future we want to build for our children."

"And always, always, love trumps hate."

Earlier in the day:
Final national polls show Hillary with a lead of from 3 to 6 points.

The Dow was so relieved that Hillary is ahead that it zoomed up 371 points.  But then that's just more evidence of the International J**ish banking conspiracy the orange-faced fuhrer has revealed.

Friday's job report by the way is not making news because it was so good.  Unemployment down below 5 percent (the contemporary measure of "full employment") with wages up.  But of course that, too, is just more evidence of...etc. etc.

Election Day weather is expected to be pretty good almost everywhere.  (I'm not sure, but that might also be part of the conspiracy.)

Monday marked the last campaign speeches Barack Obama will make as President.  (He says ever, but I wouldn't count on that.)  He got a bit nostalgic at his last solo speech in New Hampshire.  You might recall that he made his famous "Yes, We Can" speech that inspired a generation or two in New Hampshire--the night he lost the primary to Hillary Clinton.

President Obama  with the "highest election day approval rating in recent history" on Election Day for a successor, now at 56%.  Better than Reagan after his 8 years.

"In the waning days of a bitter, exhausting, enervating election season, President Obama has often seemed to be the only person in America who is still having fun," said the WPost, which asserts the clear winners of the campaign are the Obamas.

What President Obama represents is more than suggested by another WPost story, about a boy with cerebral palsy whose wheel chair was assaulted as he was ejected from a Trump rally, and who at a Hillary rally met President Obama.

For some reason, Politico published a fascinating insiders report of Election Day 2008, as Senator Barack Obama became President. Learn inside terminology like  "negative flake!"

But nervous Dems may also recall 2004 when exit polls showed John Kerry was on his way to victory.  You'll never guess where (Secretary of State) John Kerry is on this election day.  Antarctica.  Not kidding. Couldn't get any farther away than that.

 Hillary Clinton's expected victory tomorrow will be a sweet relief.  But nothing will ever come close to 2008:

And so the last eloquent words come from President Obama, ending his speech for Hillary in Philadelphia:

"I’m betting that tomorrow, most mom and dads across America won’t vote for someone that denigrates their daughters from the highest office in the land. I’m betting that most Americans won’t vote for someone who considers minorities and immigrants and people with disabilities as inferior, who considers people who practice different faiths as objects of suspicion.

I’m betting that tomorrow that true conservatives won’t cast their vote for someone with no regard for the Constitution. I’m betting that young people turn out to vote because your future is at stake. I’m betting that men across the country will have no problem voting for the more qualified candidate who happens to be a woman.

I’m betting that African Americans will vote in big numbers because this journey we’ve been on has never been about the color of a president but the content of his or her character.

 I’m betting that America will reject a politics of resentment and a politics of blame, and choose a politics that says we’re stronger together. I am betting that tomorrow, you will reject fear, and you’ll chose hope. I’m betting that the wisdom and decency and generosity of the American people will once again win the day. And that is a bet that I have never, ever lost.”

The Donald Chronicles: Spent

Thursday was mostly about money, as campaign finance reports were issued.
The Washington Post:

Donald Trump raised about half as much as Hillary Clinton for his presidential campaign in the first 19 days of October, putting him at a severe financial disadvantage in the crucial final days of the White House contest, new campaign finance reports filed late Thursday show.

The Post also reports that the Clinton campaign has about $153 million on hand. This means, according to Politico: Hillary Clinton’s forces had nearly 2 ½ times more cash to burn than Donald Trump’s team over the campaign’s final three weeks...

Reuters reports:
In the crucial last weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign, Democrat Hillary Clinton has dramatically widened her advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump in ad spending, according to campaign finance reports released on Thursday.

The newest filings showed Clinton's campaign and Super PAC outspending Trump in the first three weeks of October by a factor of two to one on everything from national TV ads to local outreach on smartphone screens.

At the same time, the two Super PACs associated with Trump's White House bid have seen their fundraising start to stall out, with one of the groups reserving no broadcast or cable ads between Oct. 20 and Election Day, according to data from ad-tracking firm SMG Delta.

The New York Times:
Disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday revealed tens of millions of dollars in late donations and transfers to Republican “super PACs” focused on down-ballot races, suggesting a significant last-ditch effort to protect Senate and House candidates against Mrs. Clinton’s surge. Relatively little new money has come into outside groups supporting Mr. Trump.

Among those not donating to the Trump campaign are "basically anyone with the last name Trump, many of the surrogates who represent The Donald on national television, and members of his own campaign staff.”

And that list pretty much includes the Donald himself.  He tells his audiences he's giving $100 million to his campaign, but he's given just a little more than half of that.  This month he contributed no cash and less than $33,000 in whatever.

What money the Trump campaign continues to rake in is going less to the RNC, which is running his ground game operation.  Politico reports he transferred only $2.2 million to the RNC this month, which given the absurd costs of campaigning is very little.

Not that there weren't some names in the news.  Reports of unknowable reliability say Clinton wants Joe Biden for her secretary of state and John Podesta to reprise as chief of staff.  Republicans turning on each other may end up without Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House.  Even without a Dem majority, which handicappers say is increasingly remote.

And as a 12th victim of Trump's gropes emerges, a woman accuses Justice Clarence Thomas of the same crime, at an event in 1999.  You think maybe they should have listened to Anita Hill?

Poll news: New CNBC national poll has Hillary ahead by 9 points, which nearly doubles her lead from last month.

Thursday's state polls show Clinton essentially tied now in Iowa and Georgia, with Trump maintaining a lead in Texas of from 3 to 7 points. Polls announced today show 4 point Clinton leads in Florida and North Carolina.

And Clinton is doing rather well here in California.  She's leading by 26 points (up 10 points from September), with Trump getting 28% of the votes.  Some 88% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans are voting Clinton.  The two third party candidates get 5% each.

In voter suppression news, a Bloomberg Businessweek report quotes an unnamed Trump campaign official describing its three Democratic "voter suppression operations."

 Michelle Obama identified this very Trump campaign intention last week, and repeated it again Thursday as she urged supporters to thwart such efforts by voting, in a joint appearance with Hillary Clinton.  She rocked the crowd.  Michelle Obama is the Democrat's anti-voter-suppression operation.

Keeping Our Better Angels Alive

In the course of this campaign, Hillary Clinton has grown into the role she now seems destined to play, that of President of the United States.  But the revelation--the joyful revelation-- of this campaign is Michelle Obama.

She was The Closer for Barack Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012.  She wowed the world with her speech at the Democratic National Convention this year.  And her recent speech in New Hampshire, so many say, is destined to be the most memorable of the campaign.

But if you want to know why she was The Closer for Barack, and why she is the Closer for Hillary, this speech in Phoenix on Thursday is exhibit A.

I know what this kind of speech at this time close to the election is supposed to do: it's to remind people why they're for somebody (and why they're against somebody) while convincing the few who aren't sure; it's to motivate and inspire voters and volunteers, with a call to ideals and purpose, with the urgency of the moment, with the sense of enthusiastic belonging to an important cause.  It's to thrill.

And nobody does this better than Michelle Obama.  From the moment she stands on stage and then begins speaking in that unique voice, perfect diction yet informal, a clear voice that throbs with feeling and energy, it is impossible not to listen enthralled.

In this speech she does all those things by grasping the feeling of the moment--the shock and despair brought on by Donald Trump and his Republican enablers.  She gets to it by getting back to the Obama theme: hope.  She further elucidates its meaning in this campaign context, starting with a line that will live on beyond this speech:

"Hope is what keeps our better angels alive. It’s been the driving force behind everything we’ve achieved these last eight years, and it’s been at the heart of my life and my husband’s life since the day we were born.

And I think one of the reasons this election has been so difficult for so many of us is because that's what’s being lost; in all the hateful, hurtful rhetoric we’ve been hearing, we’re losing hope."

She relates the concept to the struggles of people whose goals for themselves and especially for others are focused by hope.  That hope, she says, is realistic because of American equality and the opportunity it provides.  Equality implies diversity and tolerance, civility and paying what you owe.

She speaks with authority on the demands of the presidency. "Because here’s the thing about Hillary, she is a policy wonk -- and let me tell you, just for the record, when you are President that is a good thing. (Laughter and applause.) When you are President, being able to clearly articulate detailed plans to help the people of this country is a good thing. (Applause.) Knowing what you’re doing is a good thing. (Applause.)

Many today have reviled Trump for refusing to say he will abide by the election results, but few have articulated why that's monstrous, other than it's the common stance of a putative dictator:

"...we are fortunate to live in a country where the voters decide our elections, the voters decide who wins and loses. Period. End of story. And when a presidential candidate threatens to ignore our voices and reject the outcome of this election, he is threatening the very idea of America itself -- and we cannot stand for that. (Applause.)

You do not keep American democracy “in suspense.” Because look, too many people have marched and protested and fought and died for this democracy. (Applause.) Please."

With words to motivate people in the crowd to gather the votes necessary to turn Arizona blue, she imparts a general message that we all need to hear:

"So let me just say this, do not let yourself get tired, or frustrated, or disgusted by everything we’ve seen in this campaign. As you’re out there working your hearts out, here’s what I want you to be: Please be encouraged. Please be encouraged. If I leave you with one thing, be encouraged."

What Makes "Going High" Credible

When Donald Trump was caught on tape bragging about committing sexual assault, the game changed.  Not because of that alone (or the statements of an ever-increasing number of women that he had indeed acted on that bragging many times over a quarter century) but because of its place in a pattern of shameless deceit and xenophobic and authoritarian macho.

Certainly Trump merits rejection because he is completely unfit for the job of President in every way.  But to that is added a moral revulsion that requires a moral statement.

Hillary Clinton can make impressive arguments in her favor on fitness and qualification, and on public commitments and personal behavior.  She is compromised to some degree by how people view her past, how she handled putative ethical questions and especially on the weight of relentlessly repeated false charges that too much of the electorate believes, or half-believes.

But she has on her side two unassailable advocates: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.  As individuals and as a couple, they have for eight years been international models of behavior, deportment and attitude.  They have embodied the ethics and ideals they advocate.

There has been not a single scandal involving either of them, or even of anyone prominent in the Obama administration.  It took crazed distortions by political enemies to manufacture the most absurd and groundless charges, like Trump's birth certificate circus.

Instead, for eight years they have been a model couple--loving, humorous, real--and a model family, not only for how they raised two remarkable daughters, but for including and embracing a grandmother in the White House.

They are two of the most admired people in America, and the two most admired Americans in the world.

The contrast with Donald Trump could not be greater.  I defy anyone to watch President Obama participating in a panel discussing cutting edge science with implications for government policy, and credibly substitute Trump in his place. Yet he demonstrates better than even I have realized what the 21st century demands in a US President.

But when the game changed to include an obvious moral crisis, the Obamas had the ability--and the credibility--to address it directly.  When the discourse was going low, they could credibly go high.

Michelle Obama did so in her widely praised speech.  As Maria L La Ganga  reported in the Guardian: "Obama’s oratory was a Clinton campaign highlight Thursday, a much-shared, widely tweeted and overwhelmingly celebrated defense of girls’ and women’s rights not to be demeaned or assaulted by anyone, not a construction worker on the street or the man who would be president."

"Obama's speech will go down as one of the most important of this political cycle, a moment in which she crystallized the feelings of many women in the wake of the Trump tape," wrote Chris Cillizza in the WPost, and he was far from the only one making that evaluation. "She was... speaking to a shared humanity that we could all use more of no matter our political inclinations."

"Michelle Obama may have done the seemingly impossible. She may just have rescued the US elections from the grotesque and demeaning mire into which they have descended," wrote Anne Perkins in the UK Guardian. " With the touch of a poet,[she] held out the possibility of something better. She lent her extraordinary ability to say what people are feeling to every English-speaking woman in the world."

"When she speaks, Michelle Obama doesn’t stop being the wife of the president, but she transcends it. She becomes the personification of the best of her country."

Similarly, when President Obama spoke in Ohio Friday and moved from specific issues and Trump bluster of the day to the essentials that are at stake, his eloquence flew but his character and credibility made them weighty words:

"Donald Trump’s closing argument is 'What do you have to lose?' The answer is: Everything. All the progress we’ve made right now is on the ballot. Civility is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Courtesy is on the ballot. Honesty is on the ballot. Equality is on the ballot. Kindness is on the ballot. All the progress we made that last eight years is on the ballot. Democracy itself is on the ballot right now. 

So if you want to send a message, make it loud. Turn back the voices of cynicism. Turn back the voices of ignorance. Send a message of progress. Send a message of hope. Send a message by voting for Hillary Clinton, and show our kids and the rest of the world we remain the greatest country in the world."

The Donald Chronicles: From Here to Apocalypse

I'm struggling for a way to say this without minimizing all the revelations that have come before.  But this one has a personal resonance.

The Daily Beast quotes multiple sources from The Apprentice/Celebrity Apprentice set that Trump repeatedly mocked deaf actor Marlee Matlin and called her "retarded" during the weeks she was a guest on the show.  Some of his insulting behavior was while she was present.

Marlee Matlin won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film Children of a Lesser God.  She is the only deaf performer to win a best acting Oscar.  She won an Emmy for best guest actress in a comedy, and another for best guest actress in a drama.  She had a recurring role as a crack political consultant in The West Wing.

Matlin was no stranger to abuse, including sexual abuse.  People magazine also published the charges by actor Richard Hatch, another Apprentice guest, that Trump made frequent sexual comments to her, among others.  Matlin herself has made no accusations, at least not yet.  But at the moment I'm writing this, only The Daily Beast and Taegan Goddard's Political Wire have posted anything on this.

There were three significant speeches on Thursday, if you count Trump's rant on the international conspiracy against, well, him.  The first was the Michelle Obama speech which I include and quote from in this post below.  The second was President Barack Obama in Ohio.  While the First Lady went directly after Trump for his vileness towards women, the President made a significant move: he went after Republicans, and had the Ohio Dem senatorial candidate Ted Strickland at his side.

It must have been a cathartic speech.  From the WPost account:

"But so the problem is not that all Republicans think the way this guy does. The problem is, is that they’ve been riding this tiger for a long time,” Obama said, referring to those who questioned whether he was born in the United States, those who called him “the antichrist” and subscribers to other conspiracy theories. “They’ve been feeding their base all kinds of crazy for years, primarily for political expedience.”

"Riding the tiger" refers to the folk saying that President Kennedy capsulized in his Inaugural: Those who try to ride the back of the tiger may wind up inside.  And in this case winding up inside means riding Trump to ruin:

“People like Ted’s opponent, they just stood by while this happened,” Obama said, referring to Portman. "And Donald Trump, as he’s prone to do, he didn’t build the building himself, but he just slapped his name on it and took credit for it."

“And if your only organizing principle has been to block progress and block what we've tried to do to help the American people every step of the way, so you're not even consistent anymore -- you claim the mantle of the party of family values, and this is the guy you nominate? “You're the party that is tough on foreign policy and opposes Russia--and then you nominate this guy, whose role model is Vladimir Putin, the former head of the KGB?"

Late Thursday a NYTimes story reports that some big GOP donors are calling on the RNC to cut ties with Trump. This follows an NBC report that some fairly major Trump bundlers and donors are asking for their money back.

And speaking of the Times, they've replied to Trump's lawyer threatening a suit for libel because of the Times report yesterday concerning two women who charged Trump with acts that qualify as sexual assault.  The first part of the letter was briskly legalistic, noting that Trump has no more reputation to impugn, due to a lot that's already out there.

But the letter ends by defending its right to publish the story.  "If Mr. Trump...believes that American citizens had no right to hear what these women had to say and that the law of this country forces us and those who would dare to criticize him to stand silent or be punished, we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight."

Finally for now--remember when Hillary Clinton jokingly asked an audience why she wasn't ahead by 50 points?  She may have been thinking about this poll, which I've just seen referenced (in a column that is otherwise a personal response to the Trump tape.)  It seems there was a national poll that showed 80% for Clinton and just 20% for Trump.  So that's actually 60 points.  The nation however was Canada.  Trump didn't carry a single province, and got 27% of the men's, 13% of the women's votes.

It seems the Canadians are more broadly aware of what Hillary Clinton told the writer of a very good profile in the NYTimes Magazine: "I'm the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse."

One From the Heart

It is the speech of this insane moment.  It clarifies it all.

"This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful. It is intolerable. And it doesn't matter what party you belong to — Democrat, Republican, independent — no woman deserves to be treated this way. None of us deserves this kind of abuse.

And I know it's a campaign, but this isn't about politics. It's about basic human decency. It's about right and wrong. And we simply cannot endure this, or expose our children to this any longer — not for another minute, and let alone for four years. Now is the time for all of us to stand up and say enough is enough. This has got to stop right now."

"In our hearts, we all know that if we let Hillary's opponent win this election, then we are sending a clear message to our kids that everything they're seeing and hearing is perfectly okay. We are validating it. We are endorsing it. We're telling our sons that it's okay to humiliate women. We're telling our daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated. We're telling all our kids that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable in the leader of their country. Is that what we want for our children? And remember, we won't just be setting a bad example for our kids, but for our entire world." 

"So we cannot afford to be tired or turned off. And we cannot afford to stay home on Election Day. Because on November the 8th, we have the power to show our children that America's greatness comes from recognizing the innate dignity and worth of all our people."

NPR has the transcript.  Michelle Obama in New Hampshire earlier today--the speech that is already echoing across the Internet and the media.  When historians look at what happened to Trump, this will be a defining moment.  She spoke most directly about the effect of Trump's bragging and behavior on women and girls, but also on men and boys.  She called for a political repudiation that includes but goes beyond politics.

In this regard, an article on the revolt of Evangelical women against Trump and their own male leaders.

And in case you need a scorecard, NPR provides a list of accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior against Trump.

The Donald Chronicles: Yes, He Can

Here's the #1 stupid question of 2016: Can this guy get any worse?

Of course he can.  And every day he does.  If America can't see through this, can't understand what the job the President must do means to their lives every day, then this country is too far gone and ain't coming back.

In no particular order, Trump today: "has once again insinuated that Hillary Clinton be assassinated, telling a crowd of supporters in Miami on Friday night that he thinks Clinton’s bodyguards should disarm in order to “see what happens to her.”"

Unveiled a new tax policy worse than the last one, made an about-face on Cuba --too much to deal with!

Played the media into covering live Trump praising his soon to be opened new hotel in Washington and getting free air time for military supporters to praise him--all because he's been pushing the absurd birtherism for years and now has a new tune about it--thanks to him, we now know that Barack Obama was indeed born in the USA, since he punctured the rumor he wasn't which was started by Hillary Clinton.  Yet another complete lie that plays well with the rabid alt.right.

(Meanwhile at the White House: Calling this “the greatest day of my life,” a visibly moved Barack Obama held a news conference on Friday to thank Donald Trump for granting him U.S. citizenship.  Borowitz strikes again.  Complete with photo.)

Perhaps one good came of this--Trump burned the media so badly, they are maybe less likely to fall for his shit next time.  Or not.  Though there are signs of rebellion.

Trump lies and contradicts himself so often and outrageously that anybody with a memory sees it.  And maybe that's the problem.  Not only is Trump profoundly ADD, he's talking to a society that is structurally unable to retain a memory for 24 hours, let alone a few years.  Overwhelmed by saturation coverage of every news event, yesterday must be forgotten just to have enough brain capacity to take in today, or a couple of events from it.

So who remembers 2011 when Trump started questioning President Obama's integrity via the racist birther "questions," when (via WPost): Trump even claimed in 2011 to have sent a team of investigators to Hawaii, to discover whether Obama had really been born there, as he — and all the public records — attested.  “I have people that have been studying it, and they cannot believe what they’re finding,” Trump said at one point.

There are three--count 'em--three lies there, that is every assertion he was making: 1. That there was any unanswered question about the when and where of Barack Obama's birth (2) That he sent a team of investigators, (3) that this non-existent team found anything, let alone stuff "they cannot believe."

And still, this guy has a path to the presidency in an election to be held in less than two months.

 The media can't get enough of him--good for ratings, good for hatings--but maybe voters are listening to other voices.  Like Hillary, who had yet another nice pivot from her illness story when she addressed an audience of black women: "As the world knows, I was a little under the weather recently," Clinton said. "The good news is my pneumonia finally got some Republicans interested in women's health."

Hillary also got an assist from another Obama--Michelle this time, who spoke from her experience as First Lady: “Because the president can hire the best advisers on earth, but let me tell you something: five advisers will give five different opinions. And the president and the president alone is always the one to make the final call.”

Michelle Obama also said what should be the watchwords of this campaign: "As I’ve said before, the presidency doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who you are. The same thing is true of a presidential campaign."

We know who Trump is.  The question is: who are we?

Doing What Needed To Be Done

Edward Kilgore at New York thought the fever broke with Michelle Obama's speech.  So did the NY Daily News. Virginia Hefferman at the NYTimes thought it was Bernie Sanders speech.  Several observers thought that Sarah Silverman's improvised rebuke to the Bernie or Bust chanters ("you're being ridiculous") helped.  But observers who were at the DNC--as opposed as those watching TV or the Internet--believed Democrats became basically united behind the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

Many believed--as I do--that the speech of the night, the moment of the night, belonged to Michelle Obama.  Robin Abcarian of the LA Times began: With a graciousness that impressed critics and brought supporters to tears, Michelle Obama on Monday night gave a perfectly pitched convention speech that was a ringing endorsement of Hillary Clinton, a backhanded slap at Donald Trump, and a powerful reminder of the historic nature of her husband’s presidency.

David Smith in the Guardian: Here, at last, the profound, moving and devastating riposte to Donald Trump that many in America, and the world, had been waiting for. And the antidote to the non-politician came from another non-politician – a mother.

Michelle Obama, the first black first lady in American history, gave a 15-minute address to the Democratic national convention that drew cheers, left some delegates openly weeping and did more than any governor or congressman to unite and fire up the party for November’s presidential election.

Tina  Nguyen in Vanity Fair: As perhaps the last Democrat who could do no wrong in the eyes of the American people, Michelle Obama brought a divided audience to their feet in Philadelphia by urging the country to vote for Hillary Clinton, speaking not just as the First Lady, but as a mother of two daughters who could not let a certain “bully” become president.

 Rebecca Traister at New York began:

On the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, it was not an elected official, but one of the most brilliant and inspiring first ladies in American history, Michelle Obama, who lit up the room, silenced the booing throngs, and opened up a can of elegant whoop-ass on everyone who has been behaving poorly, all without mentioning any offenders by name. It was not just one of the best and most ingenious speeches ever given by a political spouse at a party convention, it was one of the finest speeches I have heard at a convention, period.

It was a remarkable speech, remarkably delivered.  It was all of a piece, making the case for Hillary, the case against Trump, from her unique perspective--and making it efficiently with passion and enormous grace.

The lines that will live, delivered with evident emotion and sincerity, are these:

“This is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves and I watch my daughters — two beautiful, intelligent, black young women — playing with their dogs on the White House lawn...and because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters — and all our sons and daughters — now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”

Here's a transcript .  Video above--it's about fifteen minutes long.  The convention is just starting, but this may turn out to be the most important speech of this campaign year.  So far it's clearly the best.

Good News For A Change (We Can Believe In)

Looking for some good news?  This will have to hold you for awhile:  A CDC study shows a 43% drop in early childhood obesity (ages 2-5) over the past ten years, most of it in the past two years.  This is the first substantial drop in any category, and it's also the only category that shows a drop this time.

Should First Lady Michelle Obama get some credit here for her strenuous efforts to bring attention to the problem and to get children to exercise?  I don't know, but I do remember when a different study a few months ago that showed no drop led to stories that suggested it meant she'd failed.

Evolution of Mom Dancing

Opening the envelope for Best Picture at the Oscars is one thing--but this First Lady has some serious moves.  P.S. This is what those bangs are made for.

Welcome

Michelle Obama helping out at a homeless shelter in Washington on Thursday. Part of what makes this photo so moving to me is that she could be any of the thousands, the millions of (mostly) women who serve food, and do so with a real sense of service, whether it's in a homeless shelter, a cafeteria, a diner. Getting the food on the plate with a smile and a kind word, over and over again. They all have lives, their own thoughts and experiences, but they are there to serve. All in their way are First Ladies.

Rallying the Troops

Click photo to enlarge. They don't get much publicity, but Michelle Obama has been making a series of visits to federal departments. The above photos are from the Interior Department visit (evidently she was given a Native American shawl at the event). Today she was at the Environmental Protection Agency. These visits are as important as anything the President does, because these are the people who need to be inspired to do their best for the country. Today she told them, "This is what it is all about: the future... And in many ways, it starts with all of you. You ensure that the water we drink is safe, that the air we breathe is clean, and that the polluted fields and abandoned factories in our neighborhoods all over this nation are cleaned up and restored."

"Your work will not only save our planet and clean up our environment; it's going to transform our economy and create millions of well-paying jobs. You know this better than anyone in the country," Obama said. "So there is a lot riding on your shoulders.... I know that you are up to the challenge. I can feel it in this room." There is no way to overestimate a visit by the First Lady (making them feel part of the glamor of the presidency, as well as her own) who can say these things with the credibility of her professional experience to back them up. These people need to be honored and inspired. Feeling part of this larger mission can motivate them and focus them on the work ahead, which is every bit as important as Michelle Obama said.