In English, we call it “exceed expectations”. If all was not perfect (like the humor of Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the last evening), the Democrats clearly exceeded expectations this week, with a virtual convention without a major hitch, closed Thursday evening by a sharp Joe Biden. It remains to be seen whether their strategy - making the November 3 election a referendum on Donald Trump, whom they accused of threatening democracy - will pay off.
"They did a very good job," said former Republican Party spokesman Doug Heye. According to him, the two hours televised in prime time, each evening, were "dynamic and well produced". Despite duplexes in dozens of states and a mix of short recorded and live footage, there was no technical hitch and no major substantive controversy.
Joe Biden woke up
We saw a lot of American living rooms by webcam, and it was voluntary: Michelle and Barack Obama and Kamala Harris attacked the presidential management of the pandemic which has killed more than 170,000 people in the United States. Joe Biden hit the nail on the head Thursday night, believing that Donald Trump "had failed in his most important mission: to protect Americans".
This is perhaps the biggest surprise of these four days: we saw the Joe Biden of 2008 and 2012, and not that of the Democratic primary, who often tangled the pencils and seemed to lack energy. Donald Trump, who nicknames him "Sleepy Joe" and has been suggesting for months that the Democratic candidate is on the verge of senility, is warned.
Republicans under pressure
Now, it's up to the Republicans to hold their convention, Monday through Thursday. And 48 hours from the deadline, we still ignore a good part of the program. This is because Donald Trump has insisted until recent weeks to organize a large traditional convention and not virtual.
When the health authorities in North Carolina refused to give the green light, Donald Trump first set his sights on Florida. But the coronavirus has flared up in the Sunshine State, which said “thanks, but no thanks”. Suddenly, we are heading for a reduced convention in Charlotte, with only a few hundred delegates instead of several thousand.
According to the New York Times , Donald Trump could make an appearance on Monday, then Melania Trump will speak Tuesday from the White House. Mike Pence will follow on Wednesday, before a big speech by Donald Trump on Thursday. The American president had spoken of accepting the investiture in Gettysburg, where the famous battle took place, considered to be the turning point of the Civil War. Eventually, he will speak from the White House - and Democrats accuse him of politicizing a sacred place. According to Doug Heye, all of these last-minute changes are likely to be felt next week. The US president should not be underestimated, however. If there's one thing he can do, it's produce a TV show.
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Democratic Convention: And suddenly, "sleepy" Joe Biden woke up
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