by PAUL BASS The new haven independent
New Haven delegate Audrey Tyson invites U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro to join her in dancing to Stevie Wonder performing on night 3.
Chicago — Beyonce never performed as rumored at the United Center Thursday night — but Kamala Harris did.
Harris received a pop star’s reception as she delivered an acceptance speech as the first-ever Asian-American and Black female Democratic Party presidential nominee, at a convention that marked a new era in political conventions as political theater.
To rock star-worthy applause, Harris vowed to build and strengthen the middle class with an “opportunity economy” “where everybody has the chance to compete and the chance to succeed.”
“We have so much more in common than what separates us. None of us have to fail for all of us to succeed. In unity there is strength,” Harris declared. Then an estimated 100,000 balloons descended on the hall.
The speech capped the final night of a high-energy four-day Democratic National Convention. The nights drew hundreds of millions of prime-time viewers on TV and online, even if the final night turned a bit anticlimactic amid the anticipation of a Beyonce concert that never materialized.
Organizers of the four-night main events drew on the kind of entertainment that usually fills arenas like the 23,500-seat United Center: Literal performances by pop stars like PINK and the Chicks, Stevie Wonder and John Legend. And full-throated speeches by politicians adopting the cadences and body language and timing of musicians and stand-up comics.
A DJ turned the normally upbeat state-by-state roll call into a full-out party, fun not just to take part in but to watch on screen. On Thursday night a DJ had the crowd dancing within the first hour between politician speeches.
The center was jammed every night. It felt festive, with people jostling their way through makeshift aisles, dancing in their seats, shouting and cheering, guessing which surprise stars might show up, waving slogan-bearing signs. People hesitated to leave their seats or standing spots out of FOMO, or else concern they couldn’t get back in. The seats filled up an hour before Thursday evening’s session began; eventually even the hallways were at capacity and people with credentials couldn’t get in.
The week had the feel of a Kamalapalooza — a Lollapalooza-style cultural celebration, the latest stage in the evolution of the American presidential political convention merging with celebrity popular culture.
Political conventions used to involve politicians meeting to decide on a presidential ticket. They’d negotiate among delegations and in back rooms. They’d debate issues and haggle over the platform. The show was for the politicos present.
That gradually changed with television, but the basic tasks remained the same.