PHILADELPHIA — First lady Michelle Obama seemed to be more popular than Hillary Clinton at a women’s caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention.
Prior to the event, a playlist featuring only female artists could be heard. Women wearing “This is what a feminist looks like” shirts gathered outside.
Whenever the first lady’s name was mentioned, the room erupted into thunderous applause, but it wasn’t until a few speakers took the podium before the crowd really got going for Clinton. In fact, the crowd seemed more excited about interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile than the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
When Brazile took the stage, she received a standing ovation and loud cheering. One woman even yelled, “We love you, Donna!” The same happened when she ended her speech. It was her Clinton prompt that earned the soon-to-be-nominee the most applause of the meeting.
With a reception like that, it’s a wonder Brazile isn’t made the DNC Chair. She was the interim chairperson when Tim Kaine stepped down in 2011 before Debbie Wasserman Schultz took over, and she’s far more eloquent and better at getting a crowd excited. Maybe she doesn’t want to be DNC chair, or maybe she’s barred from being nominated.
But Brazile couldn’t always get the crowd to respond. When she talked about Clinton breaking the glass ceiling, there was little applause. It seemed like two men said, “woo!” but they weren’t very loud.
The first woman to speak, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, listed a number of female presidents and prime ministers around the world, and said it was her “sincere hope that next year we will at long last add the U.S. to that list.” The room cheered, but it wasn’t incredibly enthusiastic.
To be clear, there was no large group of Bernie Sanders supporters booing. I think I heard one woman off to the side offering up the occasional “boo!” or “Bernie,” but that was it.
Albright echoed the sentiments of many other Democrat speakers at the convention, insisting Clinton is the “most qualified” person in history to run for president. The Left really wants to push that narrative, because apparently they don’t think people could come to that conclusion on their own.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also spoke, and even though these three women and the others who spoke often peddle the impression that women in America are among the most oppressed in the world, and constantly bring up women’s issue, there were some issues that seemed oddly missing.
Abortion, for one. Outside the event, women from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund tried to sign up new members, but inside, there was no (or perhaps little) mention of the issue. Equal pay was also not brought up, although paid family leave was (by Pelosi).
Pelosi also thanked Sanders and his supporters for helping increase the voting rolls in California. Much of the room applauded, at about the same intensity as what Clinton had been receiving.
After the main speakers finished, a panel began about the glass ceiling. Opening the panel was actress and film director Amber Tamblyn, who took the microphone and declared: “Holy vaginas!” to a tepid response. One woman said it was offensive. Tamblyn continued: “Not just vaginas, but supporters of vaginas.”
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
