The rapid recruitment, then anointment, of Kamala Harris and her selection of Tim Walz as her running mate renders any suspense this week’s Democrat National Convention might have mustered totally moot. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some glittery moments to watch, such as Tuesday night speeches by past Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and a display of sentiment Monday for current president and Delaware favorite son, Joe Biden. It also doesn’t preclude potential extracurricular drama the assembled Democrats would just as soon live without as hordes of left-wing activists demonstrate their dissatisfaction with some issues by making the 2024 convention a repeat of the Democrat’s turmoil-plagued gathering in 1968.
Both “do’s” are, after all, in Chicago. The 2024 event begins Monday at the United Center on Chicago’s McCormick Place and culminates on Thursday, the climax being Vice President Harris’ acceptance speech as this year’s presidential nominee of her party. That speech will be of as much interest as anything the convention has to offer.
Harris is riding a crest of enthusiasm, having brought youthful vitality to a campaign year that, for all that happened during it, felt stale. Lately, those covering her have begun to express concern about her willingness to eschew scripted appearances and unchallenged stances. She has criticized this week, even by friendly outlets, such as CNN and The Washington Post , for not holding press conferences, sitting for in-depth interviews, or precisely delineating the “how’s” in proposals made and policies declared at rallies on her behalf.
The Post also editorialized against the economic initiatives Harris announced in North Carolina on Friday. Her acceptance speech gives the vice president an opportunity to reveal more about who she is to the American electorate while allowing to her to add some meat to intentions that so far register as mere bare bones. The press is especially eager to ask her about several 180-degree flips from positions she expressed as a California attorney general and U.
S. senator and even as vice president. The other curiosity will be how the Democrats in general thank and say farewell, as least as a candidate, to Biden, who all know was persuaded to abandon his bid for re-election rather than relinquishing it voluntarily.
I’m anticipating a lovely montage of Biden’s career and a rousing show of gratitude for a job that will be said to be “well done.” I doubt, although it would be fun, if the president mentions he’d rather be on the podium on Thursday than tonight. A montage of Harris’ life and career is assuredly also on the agenda, probably prior to her formal nomination.
Gluttons for everything that occurs gavel-to-gavel can depend on C-SPAN for uninterrupted transmission of all that occurs. Streaming offshoots of the heritage networks and cable news outlets will also offer coverage of the events and day parts that won’t be seen on the stations’ main platforms. Arrangements have been to also see streamed coverage on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, X, and Prime Video (Amazon).
Unlike conventions of yore, such as the 1968 meeting in Chicago, most main-platform coverage will take place only in primetime. NBC and ABC will be on the air from 10 to 11 p.m.
Monday and from 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday — when Walz and Harris appear — while CBS and Fox confine their coverage to the 10 to 11 p.
m. hour. C-SPAN, of course, continues all day.
PBS will cover from 8 to 11 p.m. CNN, MSNBC and NewsNation will be all-convention from 8 p.
m. to midnight each day. Anchors will be Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie on NBC (Channel 10); David Muir on ABC (Channel 6); Norah O’Donnell on CBS (Channel 3); Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett on PBS (Channel 12); Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper on CNN; Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum on Fox; Rachel Maddow on MSNBC; Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas and Leland Vittert on NewsNation.
While inclined to forgo any shaded commentary and stick with the dry but objective C- SPAN, I’ll probably opt to watch one of the heritage stations, most likely Norah O’Donnell on CBS. I expect bias on all channels, but O’Donnell is probably the easiest to tolerate in that regard. Lester Holt would be my choice if he was alone at the mic.
Savannah Guthrie’s presence drives me to O’Donnell. The possibility of George Stephanopoulos chiming in is enough to keep me from ABC. The partisan cable stations are all eliminated from consideration.
They couldn’t keep from skewing what is happening if they were posing as bona fide journalists. I’ll tune into cable news when I’m convinced they’re willing to present actual, unadulterated news. I will also remind myself Xfinity gives me a mute button should some shill for Harris or Trump, appear on camera.
Curious though I am about how Biden will be celebrated, whether Harris says something substantive on Thursday, or the general mood of the convention, the story I’ll be looking at most is how orderly or disruptive the planned protests are and how Chicago and Democrat leaders in the United Center respond to them. One thing different about Chicago in 1968 and 2024 is the mayor. I’m not sure Richard Daley in the 20th century or Brandon Johnson in the 21st is the ideal person to cope with advocates’ mayhem.
Daley’s approach may have exacerbated violence. Johnson, in statements he’s made, appears ready to excuse it. In one interview, he said he was an activist himself, so he invites protest even if it becomes unruly.
Members of groups composing the coalition of left-wing groups demonstrating against what they consider too much moderation have, in many published articles, vowed to create massive chaos. I, whose personal politics is built around abhorring the French Revolution, something I see reflected in the speeches and intent of many of the activists, am eager to see to what extent protesters go and how Johnson and his police will handle it. Political ad tickles funny bone As much as I’m happy to see local stations reap the revenue derived, I pay no attention to either party’s campaign ads, knowing they are devised by Pinocchio at his least controlled moments and have as much validity as a note from the Tooth Fairy.
I was entertained by a parody of an ad that is going viral after being posted on X by someone whose screen monicker is End Wokeness. The spoof features genuine footage of Democrat candidate Kamala Harris railing about the steep rise in price of milk and a loaf of bread since the start of the pandemic. She makes her case, and the mock ad cuts to Donald Trump saying, “I’m Donald Trump, and I approve this ad.
” Very funny, End Wokeness. Thanks for a much needed laugh. ‘Mattress’ far from a snoozer Elemental entertainment is always the best.
Proof positive is the deftly staged and rollickingly funny production of “Once Upon a Mattress” running through November — and heading to LA through December — at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre. There’s no moral or the slightest attempt at substance in the 1959 musical that made Carol Burnett a star. It’s all silly fun.
The artistry is the cleverly hilarious direction of Lear deBessonet, the equally loopy yet sharp choreography of Lorin Latarro, and the sheer comic artistry of an all-star cast. I always say there’s no pro like an old pro, especially an old pro who trusts his or her material and presents it simple but with enough flair to evoke non-stop laughter and an irrepressible good time. “Once Upon a Mattress” was first produced by Encores!, a theater that does staged concert versions of vintage plays.
Because its run last two weekends, Encores! can attract stars whose schedule allows for a short run. “Once Upon a Mattress” hit the talent jackpot. Starring in the role Burnett made famous, Sutton Foster, from the TV series “Younger,” is the ultimate vaudevillian.
And quite a gymnast, too — no surprise from folks who remember her “I Don’t Want to Show Off” from “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Looking plain and gangly, Foster earns instant love and instant appreciation for her bravado turn as the “woebegotten” Princess Winifred who is dragged from the “swamps of home” to compete for the hand of a “drab” but sweet prince despite, his mother, the queen’s, determination to reject all comers and keep her son single. That queen is played by the indomitable Ana Gasteyer, whose discipline as a comedienne alone rates raucous applause.
Barely breaking a sweat while nailing every nuance, gesture, and joke, Gasteyer gives a master class in how to be subtle yet comic to the infinite degree. Known from “Saturday Night Live” and “American Auto,” Gasteyer aces any comic challenge she encounters. In her acidy stillness, she contrasts the always-moving, always-reacting Foster, who teaches an equally effective way to keep an audience in non-stop stitches.
Foster and Gasteyer are ably abetted by the charmingly puerile Michael Urie, of “Ugly Betty” fame as Prince Dauntless and the brilliantly inventive David Patrick Kelly, recognizable from dozens of movie and TV roles, as the king who, under a spell, cannot speak yet articulates clearly and amusingly via his hands, posture, and facial expressions. Add to the mix two Broadway stalwarts who may not be well known west of the Hudson River but are golden reliables to Broadway theatergoers, Brooks Ashmanskas and Daniel Breaker, who delight respectively as a wizard with magic at his command and a court jester who has heart enough to lead matters to a happy ending. Then, there’s another reliable, Will Chase, as a vain but entertaining knight and the one relatively unknown member of the cast, Nikki Renée Daniels, who shines as bright as anyone as a courtier with a romantic bent.
Daniels, whose credits show she has classical training, also has one of the purest and sweetest soprano voices you’ll hear. She matches her casemates in that everything she does is a treasure. “Mattress” is a sturdy chestnut that proves my contention that 20th century artists knew how to entertain with their wits, as opposed to 21st century artists who think they have to have edge or knock your socks off.
That wit includes double entendres and bon mots that show more intellect and elan than the edgy, flashy works of today can muster in total. Kudos to Sean Bell Listening to Sean Bell on WIP (94.1 FM) this Saturday, I heard the voice of common sense.
Bell was talking about the Philadelphia Eagles and what he’s seen in their two pre-season games. The highlight of his commentary was pointing out the difference between a player facing third-string opponents and a player who is competing against the best a foe has to offer. He clearly established that apples can only be compared with apples and to make any conclusion, one would have to see two playing vying for a position in action against both the “A” team and the also-rans.
Best of all, Bell presented his opinion calmly and accepted with humor his producer’s disagreement with his assessment. The segment was good commentary and good radio. Sean’s brother, Don Bell from Channel 3, is my favorite of all the TV sports anchors in the market.
Sean has several of Don’s skills. It’s a pleasure to listen to or watch either of them..
