The Democrats' Morning in America. How'd That Happen?

The Republican Party's convention rocked with "lock her up!" The Democrats' with "USA! USA! USA!" What's going on here?

Clinton has reason to smile: Trump's grump is bumming out the GOP.

The dynamic is two-fold here: One, Donald Trump's convention speech brought almost immediate declarations of "Midnight in America" from a collection of pundits, and, two, the GOP's bad trip in Cleveland allowed Democrats to grab the mantle of "America is already great!"

The Democratic Party as the party of patriotism? Who knew? Here's Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast:

If it’s Morning in America today, it’s a Democratic one. The Republicans are now the party of permanent midnight.

I don’t know that I’ve ever heard thousands of Democrats chant “USA! USA!” Certainly not in the 1970s, which is what gave Reagan his opening. This week, though, the Democrats have chanted it over and over.

It’s been a beautifully stage-managed convention. This isn’t my spin, this is an honest reaction to what I’ve watched. It has surprised me consistently every night, from a party that hasn’t usually done this all that well. And the reason it’s been well stage-managed is that it hasn’t been just Democratic elected officials who’ve sung from the hymnal. It’s been Americans.

Paul Krugman chimes in:

I know that some Republicans feel as if they’ve fallen through the looking glass. After all, usually they’re the ones chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” And haven’t they spent years suggesting that Barack and Michelle Obama hate America, and may even support the nation’s enemies? How did Democrats end up looking like the patriots here?

But the parties aren’t really experiencing a role reversal. President Obama’s speech on Wednesday was wonderful and inspiring, but when he declared that “what we heard in Cleveland last week wasn’t particularly Republican,” he was fibbing a bit. It was actually very Republican in substance; the only difference was that the substance was less disguised than usual. For the “fanning of resentment” that Mr. Obama decried didn’t begin with Donald Trump, and most of the flag-waving never did have much to do with true patriotism.

Think about it: What does it mean to love America? Surely it means loving the country we actually have. I don’t know about you, but whenever I return from a trip abroad, my heart swells to see the sheer variety of my fellow citizens, so different in their appearance, their cultural heritage, their personal lives, yet all of them — all of us — Americans.

Will Americans -- especially those that vote -- appreciate this odd dynamic and vote for the party that wants to move forward, not cry into their beer? I sure hope so. Okay, I'm a Democrat (actually I'm to the left of Bernie), but I saw both conventions, one dark and hate-filled and one also dark but love-filled, except, of course, for Donald Trump. He should forever be known as The Bearer of Darkness and Friend of Tyrants.

(Thanks to DailyKos' Abbreviated Pundit Roundup for the links and quotes. It's a morning must-read for me.)

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