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LIVE-BLOG: DNC Day Three

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SUMMARY (ALL TIMES EST):

– Listen to our interview with Tablet Magazine's Yair Rosenberg here
– Listen to our interview with Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J-Street, here
– To read our coverage of the first day, click here, and second day, click here
– Keynote speakers tonight include Vice-President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama
– Opinion polls currently suggest a close race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
– Get in touch and let us know your thoughts, either via Twitter (@TheSaharZ) or via email (sahar@jewishweek.org)


LIVE UPDATES (PAGE MUST BE REFRESHED MANUALLY):

11:49 Nailed it. Third time's the charm. Good night everyone, we'll meet back here tomorrow, same time, same place.

11:44 Some views while we wait to see if, on the third night, they remember the gavel when closing the session:

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/758506849100505089

11:41 And there she is. Hillary Clinton takes the stage, the two of them embrace, and she gets to enjoy some of the rapturous applause. They stand and take it in from the middle of the stage. It's a very strong image to end the night on.

11:40 President Obama ends his speech by saying: "Thank you for this incredible journey. Let's keep it going."

11:38pm

11:36pm

11:30

 

11:28 One of the biggest applause lines of the night for "Don't stay at home on election day just because you don't agree with her on all of the issues. You have to get in the arena with her. Democracy isn't a spectator sport"

11:24pm That doesn't mean that Bernie and his supporters have been ignored though. Obama gives him a shout-out, saying that the Democrats need the energy of his voters for November.

11:22pm One of the notable elements in the big speeches tonight; Kaine, Bloomberg, and now Obama, is that they separate the GOP from Donald Trump. There's a clear attempt to bring in moderate Republican voters.

11:20pm Two soundbites in the last two minutes, from among many in this speech:

 

https://twitter.com/bkesling/status/758502175559471104

11:17pm This speech is getting better as it goes on. He enjoys taking Donald Trump to task, and needless to say the crowd are enjoying it too. Someone in the crowd shouts "four more years!"

11:13pm Obama heckles the crowd. They boo the mention of Donald Trump's name, to which he replies "Don't boo, vote!"

11:09pm The problem is that all the events in her life have been covered, there are very few new ideas. This speech is relying solely on Obama's rhetorical ability, not that he ever fails on that point.

11:08 After talking about his own record, Obama now goes on to talk about Clinton; the race in 2008, and her work as his Secretary of State.

11:03 Obama takes on the GOP – "What we saw in Cleveland last week wasn't particularly Republican, and it certainly wasn't conservative."

10:59 He's giving the crowd his resume over the past 8 years, and they're enjoying it. He mentions shutting down the Iran nuclear program through diplomacy. That one will be debated and discussed.

22:56pm He finally manages to get underway. He starts by talking about *that* speech, 12 years ago at the DNC, which is credited with launching his meteoric rise to the top job.

10:54pm You know something? I'm getting the impression they like him here.

10:53pm Obama's introductory video is as long as his speech will be. It was a run-through of everything he has achieved in his 8 years in office, and also a significant portion dedicated to what he couldn't achieve, namely changes on gun violence. Obama comes out on stage to U2's "City of Blinding Lights."

10:43pm Sharon Belkoffer brings the house down with her speech. Now the video, and in just a moment, tonight's headline act will take the stage.

10:37 Sharon Belkofer is on to introduce the video for Barack Obama. She is the mother of Lt. Col. Thomas Belkofer, who was killed when a suicide bomber detonated in Kabul, Afghanistan.

10:34 Let me give you an idea of what is going on at the moment on twitter:

 

https://twitter.com/jakebeckman/status/758486786234523648

 

 

10:26pm I can report that Tim Kaine does a fairly poor impersonation of Donald Trump. The point is effective though, as he goes after him for using the words "believe me" too often. He gets a particularly large line for mimicking Trump on his tax returns "There is nothing unusual in my tax returns, believe me."

10:24pm The speech is getting a decent reception in the crowd. I should say however that parts of it are very familiar from his launch speech last week.

10:22pm the latest chant going up around the arena will get the nostalgia flowing, but with a twist. "Si se puede," – "Yes we can"

10:14pm So far this isn't any kind of policy speech, rather, he's taking the time to introduce himself to the American people. He's also being used to attract in Republican moderates. He talks about his father-in-law, a Republican who is voting Democrat, and says "if you're looking for the party of Lincoln, you'll find your place in this party."

10:11pm Kaine is coming across as gentle and unassuming. He's not a Joe Biden or Barack Obama, but more like a sympathetic next-door neighbour. It's not a bad look though, if I'm honest. He also breaks out into Spanish for the first time tonight.

10:10pm Big, big cheers for Tim Kaine when he says he accepts his parties nomination to be Vice-President.

10:07pm A big 20 minutes or so coming up for Tim Kaine.

10:01pm Tim Kaine is about to come on stage. Call me a cynic, but I feel like the hecklers might be about to make a re-appearance.

9:59pm I don't actually mind the song itself. But I can't post many of the tweets I'm seeing about it. Sorry, there might be kids reading!

9:57pm Now we have the same music video from the first night with all the celebrities. Still don't recognize any of the singers. The ones I was told about I've managed to forget.

9:49pm Next up on the program we have a Mr. Lenny Kravitz performing a musical number (one I've heard of, yay!), followed by VP nominee Tim Kaine.

9:46pm

https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/758478293599416320

 

9:45pm

9:43pm He got a few boos early on, but nothing since then. Also, this speech might play very effectively with independent voters, something which I'm not sure many other speeches that I've heard so far will.

9:41pm You didn't think he was going to hold back now, did you? Bill Clinton in the crowd is enjoying this immensely.

 

9:36pm Two themes alone in Michael Bloomberg's speech. One, is being an independent. The other, business acumen. He wastes no time taking on Donald Trump, stating that he too is a businessman, but that he didn't start it with a million-dollar loan.

9:30pm Don't go anywhere folks, Michael Bloomberg is coming up next. Incidentally, Sherrod Brown's speech has been pushed back to later in the program, so he's yet to come up too.

9:29pm Joe Biden is done now. And the poor man tasked with following that display is Mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed.

9:25pm it's a discussion that people will be having. And Barack Obama, who is no slouch himself, is still to come. I feel sorry for Tim Kaine.

9:22pm "He has no clue about what makes America great. Actually, he has no clue, period." Cue outbreaks of "Not a clue! Not a clue!" From the entire crowd. Remarkable.

https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/758472057684365312

 

 

9:20pm The crowd, which was laughing and cheering a moment ago, is silenced in a single moment when Biden tells them to be serious. And at the end of it "how can someone who gets such pleasure from the words "you're fired" be for the middle class? That's a load of malarkey." Standing ovation again. This is a masterclass.

9:13pm Joe Biden is delivering an excellent speech

 

9:08pm Now we know what it takes to shut down hecklers. Vice-President Joe Biden steps into the arena, and there is a standing ovation and long and loud applause.

9:02pm

 

9pm Leon Panetta is done, and Dr. Jill Biden comes up to introduce her husband, Vice President Joe Biden. My original notes had Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio before Biden, I'll try and find out what happened to that.

8:58pm Three nights into the convention, the Clinton delegates find their voice and start drowning out the protesters with chants of "USA! USA!"

8:56pm This time apparently the delegation in question is Washington. It was coming from a few places though, it was far more noticeable than California a few minutes ago.

8:54pm More hecklers. Disrupting the part of the speech where Panetta talks about what happened today.

8:52pm Talking about the decision to take out Osama Bin Laden. Says Hillary was "very clear" that he had to be taken out.

8:51pm

8:49pm Former Secretary of Defence and CIA Director Leon Panetta. Since this morning, his speech has become one of the most important of the night.

8:45pm This just in…

8:44pm John Hutson finishes up a speech with several memorable lines. Now it's the turn of Kristen Kavanaugh, a graduate of the US Naval Academy and a former Marine Corps Captain.

8:43pm There's some chanting from the California delegation. The message is lost slightly by nobody having any idea what they're chanting or why.

8:41pm "He says Vladimir Putin as a leader, gets an A. I taught International Law, and let me tell you, anyone who praised dictators in my class got an automatic F!"

8:38pm Who had "standing ovation for John McCain at the DNC" in the 2016 election office sweepstake?

8:37 Rear Admiral John Hutson is the first to declare open season on Trump's Russia comments. "This morning he invited Russia to hack us. That's not law and order. That's criminal intent."

8:32pm There's a video now starring all the military leaders and senior Republicans talking about Donald Trump's unsuitability for the Presidency. It's scathing.

8:27pm Oh no, apparently they're all famous Broadway stars. Needless to say I don't recognize any of them. I'm a lost cause.

8:25pm There is a breaking news story, as Reuters report that Wikileaks have released audio voicemails of DNC figures. It'll no doubt raise more questions. I only hope one of them is "who still uses voicemail??"

8:23pm Another standing ovation as Giffords leaves the stage. Here comes the musical piece I mentioned earlier. For real this time.

8:22pm

8:20pm Kelly introduces Gabby Giffords, his wife, a former congresswoman and a survivor of an assassination attempt.

8:19pm Panetta is due to speak in about twenty minutes

 

8:15pm U.S. Navy Captain Mark Kelly up now, and Gabby Giffords is also supposed to take the stage.

8:13pm Two survivors of the Charleston shooting now take the stage.

8:11pm Actress Angela Bassett starts by reciting the names of the 9 people who were killed in the Charleston massacre. She then says that simply saying their names "is not enough."

8:08pm Ramsey says we need a "strong and steady" leader. Along with adjectives such as "calm," "responsible," "serious" etc… you're getting the picture they're trying to build up of her.

8:04pm I hope they're handing out complimentary tissues down there on the arena floor. Charles Ramsey, former Police Commissioner of Philadelphia, is giving the talk on behalf of police officers who have been shot in the line of duty. He gets a big round of applause for "we need more than grieving to help protect our police officers."

8:01pm The crowd is worked up after Senator Murphy's speech on gun control and the NRA, and they have another one now. It's Erica Smegielski, whose mother was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary, who was killed trying to protect her students.

7:56pm Another standing ovation, this time for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy as he talks about his decision to stage a 15-hour sit-in on the floor of the Senate.

7:53pm there is not a single dry eye in the house as Christine Leinonen talks about her son Christopher, who was killed in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Two of his friends, and survivors of the attack, stand next to her while she speaks. She gets the biggest standing ovation of the night so far as she leaves the stage.

7:45 Now there's director Lee Daniels. He talks about his family, several of whom are in jail. He talks about having been in jail himself, and says "And still I rise. That's the America I know."

7:44 His speech is a good one, and it's going down well with the crowd. "Trump says climate change is a hoax. I say Donald Trump is a fraud."

7:39 Governor Jerry Brown of California comes out to chants of "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" Springer would approve. California has been at the center of the climate change controversy in the USA.

7:37pm This long video segment is as fear-inducing as anything the Republicans threw out last week. It's effective though, and there is a segment at the end dedicated to solutions.

7:34pm Climate change is Signourney Weaver's big topic, and it's accompanied by what looks like a disaster movie showreel from recent natural disasters.

7:31pm And now for something completely different. It's Sigourney Weaver.

 

7:29PM O'Malley's speechwriter being given the brief beforehand was basically just told "have some fun" by the looks of it. He's delivered, too.


7:27pm neat little segment there. He riffs on Trump saying wages are too high by giving a list of things that he says are really too high, such as the cost of childcare, and then finishes up with "Donald Trump's opinion of himself? Waaaay too high."

7:24pm I'm willing to bet that a lot of speeches in the last week have undergone rewrites to include the lines "She will stand up to Russia." O'Malley's, for one. He's a good speaker though, and clearly still popular with the crowd.

7:24pm Ready? It's O'Malley time!

7:21pm A dig at Trump there; "Detroit is 18 months out of bankruptcy, something which Donald Trump knows a bit about. Unlike Trump however, Detroit will only go into bankruptcy once."

7:20pm the Mayor of Detroit is on now, talking about another issue that Democrats have been attacked on consistently and effectively, which is the jobs leaving the rust belt. He admits that jobs have been leaving Detroit for decades, but says that is now being turned around.

7:18pm This is the response to the Benghazi emphasis from last week which sought to portray Hillary Clinton as uncaring and not on the side of law enforcement. It's a short and effective speech too.

7:14pm There's another introductory video, to Patrick Dorff, a helicopter pilot who was shot down in northern Iraq while on a search and rescue mission. It's a tear-jerker, but also includes the raise in survivors benefits that Hillary pushed for. His widow, Jamie Dorff, will now speak.

7:07pm There's another attack video now, on Trump's donation-that-wasn't, as well as his quote on John McCain's war record. It features Rick Perry and Marco Rubio, among others, criticizing his words. There's a Rep. and former Marine speaking now to hammer home that point.

7:02pm Another round of "Harry! Harry!" as he leaves the stage. Gavin Newson, Lieutenant Governor, is next up. He's a proud Democrat, which is convenient.

6:59pm He says "Republicans that won't stand up to Donald Trump" don't believe in "country first" but only in "party first." There's also a mention of Trump's endorsement of suspected Russian involvement in the DNC cyber-hack.

6:58pm Harry Reid says he "has never seen so craven as the actions of Mitch McConnell" and says the only thing he has accomplished is to "set the stage" for Donald Trump.

6:56pm away from the speech:

6:53pm one of those praising Reid in the video? Senator Bernie Sanders. Barack Obama as well. The video ends with the caption "thank you for fighting for us, Harry Reid." He gets a long standing ovation from the crowd.

6:52pm Another big name speaker now, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. He merits his own introductory video.

6:48pm "Hillary Clinton may be our first woman President, but she won't be our last" says Emily's List PAC founder Stephanie Schriock. See my previous update.

6:42pm A few references among this group of speeches to the need to take back the House and the Senate. It ties in to what some people were saying about the pick of Tim Kaine as her running-mate, that the Clinton camp feels like the presidential election is all but won. A bit presumptive if so.

6:35pm A lot of love for Rep. Andre Carson, or maybe just the Indiana delegation are particularly enthusiastic. He's an engaging speaker, and the crowd are all booing Trump/Pence and applauding Clinton at all the right moments.


6:32pm The Congressional Black Caucus is up on stage now. I have just spotted that Martin O'Malley comes up later in the program. I'm excited, and I'm sure his Iowa caucus voters both are too.

6:28pm So apparently Nina Turner was a State Senator from Ohio who was supposed to speak but had her credentials stripped away from her. Anyway, enough of that. Karen Weaver elicits boos from the crowd when she talks about how the Republican-led house has blocked the release of funds for Flint.

8:27pm That video was the introduction for Mayor Karen Weaver of Flint.

6:24pm Dramatic music plays over a timeline of the story of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. There are soundbites with people from Flint thanking Hillary for her work helping them bring attention to it.

6:20pm has Nina Turner always been a part of this campaign? I've been following it pretty closely, and I heard her name for the first time five minutes ago.

6:18pm This is a bit underwhelming and monotonous from Rev. Jesse Jackson, but the crowd are with him anyway.

6:15pm Apparently Nina Turner, not to be confused with Tina Turner, was to be the candidate to stand against Tim Kaine, but wasn't allowed to speak. Something like that. I'll be honest, I'm not sure even the people in the media tent know what's going on. They aren't communicating it if they do.

6:11pm Last word on that musical intervention. Finished. Next up is a big name and a renowned orator, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

6:09 This is… it's just… never mind. When you come to google the highlights of the DNC, don't look for this.

6:07pm My mistake, it's a different musical segment. It's called Our America. It's a bit quiet, not sure if it's a problem with the sound system.

6:04 The White House has released segments of Obama's speech tonight. He endorses Donald Trump. Nah, just kidding. Here you go:

6:01 Up next is the segment I saw being practised earlier. They spent about an hour on it, so let's see how it turns out. First though, a video on the civil rights movement, with quotes by Martin Luther King Jr and Harvey Milk among others.

5:58 Apparently Susan Sarandon is there now. I'll keep you posted if she says anything interesting.

5:56

5:54 There's a short break in his speech for a video which asks "if those [Republicans who won't stand up to Trump] are our standard bearers, what does that say about our standards?"

5:52pm now he takes on the House Republican Party, who he says has spent the past six years doing nothing and blocking any progress. "Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are" he says of the GOP and Donald Trump.

5:49pm Also a life story, this one includes the grandparents. Speech key points: values of caring for each other, story of his family is the story of millions of other families, story of America.

5:47 The segment finishes with Mohammed Ali, and the crowd is given a minute of quiet before we go back to the speeches. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Ben Ray Lujàn now takes the stage.

5:42 Among those being remembered are Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela and former Mayors of NYC Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo.

5:41 There is now a tribute to the leaders and activisits who have passed away in the past four years.

5:40 De Blasio says Clinton is "smart, steady, right and ready."

5:37pm De Blasio's speech attacks Trump more than most of the speakers so far on any of the days. Both Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton didn't even mention him, De Blasio is attacking him for his record of "screwing over" small business owners and acting in his own interests.

5:33pm Bill de Blasio, Mayor of NYC, walks out to the tune of Carlos Santana's hit single "Smooth".

5:27pm Brooks Bell is a tech entrepeneur. Like Jesse Lipson on the opening day, she is talking about her business acumen, the difficulties she's had to deal with. Interesting that the businesspeople the Democrats have chosen are all meant to appeal to younger voters, it's all about cloud services and internet businesses. Except for Michael Bloomberg, who was a late addition to the program.

5:25 The firsts are getting somewhat tenuous now, we have the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress on the east coast. Set formula though; step up to the mic, state your name, what you were first at, two sentences about why you're backing Clinton, step back.

5:24pm Rep Ted Lieu isn't firt anything, but is he a colonel in the Air Force reserves. There is then a delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands whose name I have no chance of having time to type out before he's done speaking.

5:22 These are all still part of the Asian Pacific American Caucus. Now there's the first-openly gay person of color in the congress. He refers to himself as a "gaysian". Each of these speeches is about 20 seconds long. I missed two typing this. They're all first somethings. Bobby Scott of Virginia is the first person of Fillipino ancestry.

5:21 Senator Mazie Mirono of Hawaii gives a speech so short that by the time I'm done introducing her, it's over.

5:15 She was the first Chinese-American woman ever elected to Congress. She has other members of the Caucus on stage with her.

5:14pm The speaker on this topic will be Judy Chu, the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

5:12 We have a history lesson now, with past cases of abuses, both legislative and social, of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans. Now there's an introduction to Asian-American and Hawaiian Members of Congress.

5:07 Mayor Andrew Gillum of Tallahassee, Florida, talking now. He starts with the life story. Working class parents, first in his family to go to college, inspirational quote from his grandmother. It's not bad, but I'm not really sure what purpose it serves, especially as so many before him have given almost the exact same speech. He's a good speaker though.

5:05pm Hogue links Trump's rhetoric on abortions and women's issues to his choice of Mike Pence as his running-mate, saying it indicates that he really means what he says.

5:02 Ilyse Hogue, President of pro-choice organization NARAL, is the next person up. The Democrats are repeatedly bringing up some of the more divisive issues, they're not skirting around them in any way.

5:01pm It might just be my impression, but mentions of the need to reign in the NRA don't seem to be getting the sort of applause you might expect.

4:59pm My computer just froze. Apologies about that. Maxine Waters of California is up now, she's the last of this round of Representatives.

4:53 Gotta say, it was nice to hear a different theme to the usual. Rep. Adam Schiff of California on now. There's our first mention of Putin as a threat for the night, and it won't be the last. In the meantime, Trump is at a rally in Scranton, defending his calls earlier this morning for the Russian leader to hack Clinton's emails and release them. At the start of next week, both candidates are to be given national intelligence briefings, to ease the transition into the post of President for whoever wins.

4:51pm There are a few attacks on Republicans in her speech. Now we're onto the Democratic platform, which she reminds people calls for pasing statehood laws for D.C. She says Clinton has said she will be a "vocal champion" for D.C, and says no major presidential candidate in history has ever made such a clear promise.

4:49pm And as I write that, she calls D.C. "the 51st state of the U.S.A." Calls for "equal citizenship" for D.C. This is her major talking point, and it's a case she's been making for a long time. Still, this is one of the biggest stages she'll have for it. Not a word on Clinton so far, it's all about D.C.

4:48pm Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia). I believe she is likely to talk about the need to make DC a state, as she did in the roll-call vote yesterday.

4:43pm Rep. Jackson Lee got the crowd warmed up. I won't tell them there are four more representatives coming up. First, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico. Any relation to John Grisham?

4:40pm Rep. Jackson Lee talks about the fear of living with breast cancer, and compare it to the campaign of fear of the Republicans. I'm not sure how that will go down. She also says that she "finally feels included in the 'we the people'".

4:38pm Tanden says that Hillary was the first person to call her when both her children were born. Between all the phone calls she makes to women who just gave birth, I'm amazed Clinton had time for the rest of her job. Tanden's speech was short, and now Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas is up.

4:35pm We've just had Daniel Driffin talk about the need to work on education and prevention to help resolve HIV/AIDS. Now Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress, is on stage.

4:33PM Everybody ready? It's gavel-time.

2:38pm I've just seen tonight's full schedule, and the overarching themes are going to be gun violence and national security. Among the speakers are Jamie Dorff, whose husband Patrick was an Army helicopter pilot who died in Iraq, and Erica Smegielski, whose mother Dawn was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School at the time of the shootings, and who died protecting her students.

1:38pm Any of tonight's keynote speakers would command a decent stage in their own right. So who are you most looking forward to hearing from, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, or Tim Kaine? As usual, tweets to @TheSaharZ, or emails to sahar@jewishweek.org

1:30pm Earlier today, I spoke to Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder and President of J-Street. Here's what we had to say:

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