About the Election

I was embarrassed at first to admit how good I felt about the Democratic party convention; then I realized that the four evenings I spent in front of the tv were a training period—like an athlete’s spring training for a new season. But in this case, winter had lasted eight years.

Watching the tv, I exercised parts of me that hadn’t been budged since 1980: I listened to politicians speak words I wanted to hear; I felt moved; I felt hopeful; and I liked a lot of the images ...