Symone Sanders-Townsend was barely able to contain herself during an interview with Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond on The Weekend this Weekend.
“Will Beyoncé be there?”
“Some things are above my pay grade,” Richmond said. “They don’t tell me everything.” Michael Steele held his cup to his mouth and said, “Just take a sip of your coffee, then you don’t have to answer.”
I’ve been predicting a Beyoncé appearance at the Democratic convention for weeks, as an example of what I wrote about in this space when I forecast that next week’s coverage of the DNC will be must-see TV.
We can expect stars, glamour, music, Barack Obama—everything TV audiences love. After the Republican cavalcade of weirdos in Milwaukee, and Donald Trump’s 90-minute acceptance
rantspeech that sent delegates heading for the exits, the media professionals and Hollywood stars who are eager to show how necessary they are to presidential politics will surely put on a good show.
Now, it looks like Beyoncé will take the stage, although the Harris campaign is putting out the word that they want to avoid making the DNC a “Hollywood liberal event.”
A wise friend and reader of this newsletter who knows that community says that people in Hollywood believe that what they do is just as important as what goes on in Washington, and they’re deeply offended that everyone doesn’t understand that.
This Convention is a dream come true for many of them—and I won’t characterize what kind of dream that might be.
The A-list of Democratic Hollywood Grand Poobahs is going to want to turn the DNC into a show that’s bigger than the Oscars, and Beyoncé may be just the beginning. We may not get Tom Cruise parachuting into a stadium, but I wouldn’t rule anything out short of a Beatles reunion.
I tuned into my first political convention in 1968. It was the summer before my 12th birthday and as a precocious kid with an interest in politics I knew, as the song I will not make the song of the day again (but will link to here) says, “there’s something happening here.” By 1972 I was hooked, and stayed up to watch what Time Magazine described:
The delegates maintained an appealing independence, even from their nominee. They insisted on nominating eight candidates for Vice President, including not only Eagleton but also Alaska’s Senator Mike Gravel, former Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody and Texas State Representative Frances (“Sissy”) Farenthold. By the time the roll call finally began, the delegates were in a prankish mood, casting ballots for TV’s Archie Bunker, Martha Mitchell and CBS-TV’s Roger Mudd. It was, said Mankiewicz, “like the last day of school.” Because the clerk misheard a name, one vote was even recorded temporarily for Mao Tse-tung. Finally, in a grace note that brought the convention to its feet cheering, the Alabama delegation cast all of its 37 votes for Eagleton, explaining that had Wallace been the nominee, he would have wanted the right to select his own running mate and McGovern deserved no less. When Eagleton was at last confirmed, it was 1:40 a.m.’
(For more about that convention, and thanks to this author for digging up that Time article, see this Substack by
, “Richard Nixon: My Part In His Downfall.”)Four years later, I remember the suspense over who Jimmy Carter would pick as his vice presidential running mate. “The Carter campaign tells me it starts with an “M” and ends with an “E,” one reporter revealed. “Of course that means it could be either of the two names being mentioned—Muskie and Mondale.” I thought that was pretty clever.
When Walter Mondale was picked, an interview with his children, who were about the same age as me and my sister stuck with me too.
“How do you feel?,” asked the man sticking a microphone in their faces.
“Exploited,” one said. Ah, memories…
Then there was John Chancellor geeking out over Willie Nelson’s appearance singing the Star Spangled Banner at the 1980 Democratic convention. “He’s wearing braids!”
The Republicans put on a better show that summer with their convention, setting off a “made for TV election” that was the subject of this documentary, which was made down the hall from me when I shared an office with its’ producer. It began with the Hollywood scenario of Ronald Reagan being on the verge of naming former President Gerald Ford as his running mate—wild!
We won’t have that kind of drama in Chicago this year—the ticket is set and Democrats are thrilled. Whether Beyoncé is part of an all-star lineup that stretches over all four nights of the Convention, or ends up being the only star in the firmament, when the convention is over, people won’t be focused on the entertainment.
From what I’ve seen so far, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz both give great speeches. Sorry, Donald Trump—she’s going to get better ratings than you, and people won’t leave before she’s finished talking.
We’re already reading about Democratic momentum in states like Ohio and Florida, and Kamala Harris hasn’t even had her convention bounce yet. How many points will that get her in the polls? Leave your forecast in the comments, and join me in tuning in, geeking out and turning on the power of politics.