The Commentariat -- July 28, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Wanted: President of the United States. No experience required. Steve Benen: Not only aren't Republicans very concerned about Donald Trump asking Russia to spy on Hillary Clinton, they're not concerned about his appalling lack of experience. In fact, Marco Rubio " ma[de] the case yesterday that Trump will become more competent eventually. BuzzFeed reported: 'I view the Senate as a place that can always act as a check and balance on whoever the next president is,' Rubio said on WGN radio on Wednesday." Akhilleus: So does it worry any Republican, voter or pol or pundit or apparatchik, that they are all lining up to give a big thumbs up to a guy most of them realize couldn't start a car with the keys in the ignition?

Shame, Shame, Shame...oh, wait a minute. Maybe not. AP: "Republicans from North Carolina have apologized to Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine for mistakenly critiquing him for wearing a foreign flag during his acceptance speech. The state GOP sent out a tweet Wednesday night saying it was 'shameful' for Kaine to wear a Honduras flag during his speech at the Democratic National Convention.... Kaine's pin was actually the symbol for families with a member serving in the military. Kaine's son, a Marine, is currently deployed." Akhilleus: Honduran flag, Marine symbol, eh, it's all the same.

Aw c'mon, cantcha take a joke? Stephen Collinson of CNN: "strong>Donald Trump said Thursday that he was being sarcastic when he appeared to suggest that Russia should use espionage to find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails.... [Trump] tried to dampen controversy over his apparent call Wednesday for Russia to either stage an espionage cyber hack to find Clinton's deleted emails or to publish information it had already stolen. 'Of course I'm being sarcastic,' Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired the day after his comments at a news conference in Florida sparked a national furor and offered ammunition for Democrats who claim he's not fit to be president." Akhilleus: Oh yeah, because Donaldo is always such a barrel of laughs. A great kidder, that guy. One of the many reprehensible things about Trump is how cowardly he is. Everyone knows that he was in no way kidding when he begged Russia to spy on his opponent with an eye toward hurting her chances in a presidential election. It was only after the shit storm turned his spray tan dark brown that he decided to lie about it and hope he could get away with yet another bulshit excuse. If you're gonna play the big tough guy, it doesn't help your image to keep pretending your tough talk was just a joke. Craven, yellow-bellied jellyfish.

*****

Democratic Convention & Presidential Race

Jonathan Martin & Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "President Obama delivered a stirring valedictory address at the Democratic convention Wednesday night, hailing Hillary Clinton as his rightful political heir and the party's best hope to protect democracy from 'homegrown demagogues' like the Republican Donald J. Trump." -- CW ...

I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America. No one. Not me, not Bill, not anybody. -- Barack Obama (CW Note: the second two sentences were not in the prepared transcript.)

... Abby Phillip & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: President "Obama's address was both a moment of reflection on his presidency, and also a one where he would project forward to the future.... Obama's full throated endorsement is a key part of Clinton's case to the American people.... His address was also a forceful rejection of the worldview presented by ... Donald Trump.... As he concluded his speech, thanking the crowd for 'an incredible journey,' Obama was joined by the person he said he was 'ready to pass the baton' to. The crowd erupted with rapturous applause as Obama and Clinton embraced onstage." -- CW ...

... CW: I swear, every time Barack Obama delivers a major speech, I think he can't make a better one. Then he does:

... Brian Beutler: President Obama's "purpose Wednesday night in Philadelphia was just as much to make the case for democracy itself so that an authoritarian and fascist like Donald Trump is not the coda to his presidency.... The election, he warned, 'is not just a choice between policies or parties, left and right, [but] whether we stay true to this experiment in self-government.'" -- CW ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Obama argues that Trump isn't American enough to be president." CW: Somewhat tangential to Chait's whole point, this graf struck me: "... the president reminded his audience of how deep his own roots in this country -- and its value system -- actually go. If Trump wins the presidency, it will be because he convinced a large number of hardworking white people in small-town America that he is their voice. But in Philadelphia, the first black president argued that he -- not Trump -- is the true inheritor of such 'salt-of-the-earth' folks' collective wisdom." -- CW ...

... ** John Cassidy of the New Yorker makes the same point, that President Obama portrayed Donald Trump as "un-American." "Trump hasn't just insulted Obama personally: Trump's entire candidacy represents an affront to everything that Obama stands for and got elected on -- hope, inclusiveness, reason, and faith in a democratic political system (even if that system is frustratingly deadlocked)." -- CW ...

... CW: The Birther v. the Brahmin. CW: On his mother's side, Trump is a first-generation "natural-born" American; on his father's side, he's a second. Barack Obama, on the other hand, had American ancestors back through colonial times. One ancestor, for instance, was born in New Jersey in 1640. So again, we can explain Trump's birtherism as a product of his own perceived "deficiency": Barack Obama's family has been American since generations before the country's founding, while the Drumpfs are recent immigrants. Drumpf overcompensates for his ancestor-envy by falsely claiming an opponent is not as "American" as he is. ...

... Ben Mathis-Lilly of Slate: Conservative pundits are shocked they loved Obama's speech. With examples. -- CW

"Be-leeeeve Me!" Ed Kilgore: "... if [Tim] Kaine wanted to prove he wasn't too nice to play the attack dog when called upon, he passed the test.... What Kaine's wild outburst of humor and venom showed more than anything is that the campaign he has joined believes that the competition to show which damaged presidential candidate is least dishonest and untrustworthy could be the ballgame":

Gail Collins: Michael "Bloomberg is not, normally, a particularly good public speaker. But he was definitely on a roll Wednesday night. He laced into Trump's 'well-documented record of bankruptcies and thousands of lawsuits and angry stockholders and contractors who feel cheated and disillusioned customers who feel they've been ripped off.'... The convention scrutinizers were presumably able to live with Bloomberg's suggestion that Democrats might be too tough on the private sector in return for having one of the wealthiest guys in the world announce that 'the richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy.'" -- CW ...

... Conservative Reihan Salam of Slate: "Republicans have built a coalition that is a far better fit for culturally conservative working-class whites than it is for the Bloombourgeoisie. If Donald Trump is any indication of where the GOP is heading, that trend will continue in the years to come." -- CW ...

... CW: Lyndon Johnson was overly optimistic when he said passage of the Civil Rights Act meant Democrats "had lost the South for a generation." But now it looks as if Republicans could end up representing only the South & some pockets of paleoconservatism in northern & western states. ...

No major party, no major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security. We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears of ISIS and other terrorists, who has no plan whatsoever to make us safer. A man who embraces the tactics of our enemies, torture, religious intolerance. You all know, all the Republicans know. -- Joe Biden ...

... Michael Crowley of Politico: "With Democrats sensing that Donald Trump is newly vulnerable on national security grounds after startling statements about Russia and NATO, Wednesday night's convention speakers blasted Trump’s fitness to be commander in chief.... 'We cannot afford an erratic finger on our nuclear weapons,' [former Secretary of Defense & CIA Director Leon] Panetta said. 'This is no time to gamble with America's national security.' Panetta followed a video presentation which a featured a montage of retired military officials and conservative foreign policy analysts -- from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican, to Fox News pundit Charles Krauthammer — labeling Trump as 'unmoored' and 'unfit' to lead the military." -- CW

Eric Levitz of New York: "Last month, Christine Leinonen lost her only son in the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. On Wednesday night, Leinonen addressed the Democratic National Committee.... She shared a bill with many experienced orators, including Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, but none spoke with more eloquence and authority than this former Michigan state trooper." Includes video. -- CW ...

... New York Times reporters track highlights of the convention. The Washington Post's liveblog is here. ...

Nick Gass of Politico: Jane Sanders tells Wolf Blizter she doesn't understand why her husband's supporters aren't backing Hillary Clinton. She said she & Bernie would be campaigning "aggressively" for Hillary. -- CW

Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton has so far been putting on a better television show in Philadelphia than Donald J. Trump did in Cleveland. Expectations had it the other way around. Mr. Trump is the bona fide television sensation, a former maestro of a hit reality series, and he had promised to bring some 'showbiz' to the proceedings. Yet it's Mrs. Clinton who has had the celebrities and musical acts that 'Tonight Show' bookers' dreams are made of.... And at least for the first two nights, it's Mrs. Clinton who has had the bigger ratings, by several million people." -- CW

Jenna Portnoy & Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Gov. Terry McAuliffe fueled new distrust of Hillary Clinton among liberal Democrats this week with a declaration that the presidential nominee was likely to reverse her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the election. The Clinton campaign swiftly rejected the idea that she would waver on TPP and called her longtime friend and chairman of her 2008 campaign 'flat wrong.'" CW: Thanks, Terry!...

... Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "Hillary Clinton's campaign is furiously pushing back against a close ally's claims that the Democratic nominee will reverse her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership if elected president. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend and surrogate for the Clintons, has been saying in interviews over the last 24 hours that Clinton would support passage of the Obama administration's international trade deal or seek to renegotiate it if elected president. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta swatted down McAuliffe's claim on Wednesday. 'I can be definitive -- she is against it before the election and after the election,' Podesta told reporters. 'She is not interested in renegotiating the TPP,' he added." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Steve M. on sexuality in the presidential race. CW: For the record, I think Steve and Rebecca Traister, whom Steve cites, have it right, & Rachel Maddow's criticism of Bill Clinton's speech was off. ...

... CW: Thought I linked Traister's take on Bill Clinton's speech yesterday, but I didn't. Here's the key takeaway, apropos of Steve M.'s post: "It was a risk -- a big risk -- for an epically unfaithful man ... to begin his speech with the sentence, 'In the spring of 1971, I met a girl.' But he went for it, with a self-aware grin that suggested he knew what he was doing: challenging the perception of his wife as sexless and his marriage as an empty sham based only on a shared will to power, by laying out a picture of a flesh-and-blood woman for whom he fell hard, more than 40 years ago. He was doing it, in part, by making the joke about his horn-dog impulses, and reminding people that he had once trained them on Hillary." -- CW ...

... Patrick Healy of the New York Times has more on the "controversy" of Bill Clinton's depicting Hillary as, you know, a woman. -- CW

Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "Donald Trump struck his most stridently isolationist notes yet on Wednesday, following up a day of controversy over his call for Russia to hack into and release Hillary Clinton's deleted emails with an assertion that Nato's principle that an attack on one is an attack on all should be conditional on every member country paying 'their fair share'. 'I want to keep Nato, but I want them to pay,' Trump told a rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 'I don't want to be taken advantage of ... We're protecting countries that most of the people in this room have never even heard of and we end up in world war three ... Give me a break.'... The remarks in Scranton came just hours after Trump said he would look into legally recognizing Russia's occupation of Crimea...." -- CW ...

... Unhinged U.S. Presidential Candidate Urges Russia to Breach U.S. Security. Jose DelReal of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hoped that Russia would hack into Hillary Clinton's email server to find 'missing' messages and release them to the public. 'Russia, if you're listening I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,' Trump said during a press conference at his Doral resort in South Florida on Wednesday. 'They probably have them. I'd like to have them release. It gives me no pause, if they have them, they have them,' Trump added later when asked if his comments were inappropriate. 'If Russia or China or any other country has those emails, I mean to be honest with you, I'd love to see them.'... [Trump] sought ... to distance himself from allegations that the Russian government hacked into the Democratic National Committee to benefit his campaign.... 'It is so farfetched. It's so ridiculous. Honestly I wish I had that power. I'd love to have that power but Russia has no respect for our country,' Trump said." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Timothy Lee of Vox: The thing is, if Trump gets elected president, he probably will have the power to hack into the private communications of his political opponents. And that's terrifying.... Trump has repeatedly signaled a willingness to use the powers of the presidency to retaliate against critics and political opponents." ...

... CW: This was my first thought, too, when I read Trump's "wish." The things Trump says publicly make Nixon's Watergate-related shenanigans look quaint. What Trump would do behind the scenes is, as Lee writes, terrifying. Jokers like Mitch McConnell obviously are kidding themselves -- and us -- when they claim the Congress, the Pentagon & other governmental agencies would keep Trump in check. Nixon used loons, losers & bunglers like the Watergate burglars & the "plumbers" to carry out his dirty tricks. If American institutions defy Trump, he will turn to sophisticated foreign operators to do his dirty work.

... Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that he hoped Russia had hacked Hillary Clinton's email, essentially sanctioning a foreign power's cyberspying of a secretary of state's correspondence.... Mr. Trump's call was an extraordinary moment at a time when Russia is being accused of meddling in the U.S. presidential election.... At the news conference..., [Trump] refused to unequivocally call on Vladimir V. Putin ... to not meddle in the United States' presidential election. 'I'm not going to tell Putin what to do,' Mr. Trump said. 'Why should I tell Putin what to do?'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Jen Kirby of New York provides a terrific synopsis of Trump's presser. CW: The man is either insane or he is doing everything he can to get out of the race. In either case, it's time to take him away, away. ...

     ... Looks Like mike pence didn't get the memo. Reuters: "... Mike Pence on Wednesday vowed there would be 'serious consequences' if the FBI determines Russia is behind recent hacking attempt and is meddling in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... AND Paul Ryan was never in the loop. Esme Cribb of TPM: "The top spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had strong words in response to Donald Trump's call for Russian hackers to 'find' and release the deleted emails from Hillary Clinton's private server. 'Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug,' Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck told The Guardian. 'Putin should stay out of this election.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Update. Somebody in Trump's campaign pulled him down off the wall. Nick Gass: "Donald Trump says he was 'being sarcastic' when he suggested Wednesday that Russia should find Hillary Clinton's missing emails." CW: I don't believe him. As Jose DelReal reported yesterday, Trump several times emphatically repeated his call for foreign hackers to release Clinton's private e-mails. This wasn't a lapse; it's what he still thinks is acceptable. ...

... Lisa Hagen of the Hill: "Donald Trump said Wednesday he doesn't know Russian President Vladimir Putin, contradicting a claim he made last year that he knows the leader 'very well.' 'I never met Putin. I don't know who Putin is,' the GOP nominee said at a press conference.... 'He said one nice thing about me. He said I'm a genius,' Trump continued. 'I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... Trump actually said something else at his bizarre, fact-challenged news conference Wednesday that could bring a smile to Russian President Vladimir Putin's face. Here's the exchange..: 'QUESTION: I would like to know if you became president, would you recognize (inaudible) Crimea as Russian territory? And also if the U.S. would lift sanctions that are (inaudible)? TRUMP: We'll be looking at that. Yeah, we'll be looking.'... Recognizing Crimea as Russian territory is not something that basically anybody inside the American foreign policy mainstream is 'looking at.'... The official position of the U.S. government is that the Russian annexation of Crimea is illegal and dangerous.... And not only that, but a top Trump foreign policy adviser has previously said ... that Russian business interests have expressed excitement to him about the prospect of a President Trump easing sanctions." -- CW ...

... Louis Nelson of Politico: "President Barack Obama 'has been the most ignorant president in our history,'... Donald Trump said on Wednesday." CW: As we know by now, Trump tries to obscure his own deficiencies by accusing his rivals of having his own shortcomings. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... As if to prove my point ...

... Politico: "Donald Trump mixed up Hillary Clinton's running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, with the former governor of New Jersey during a news conference on Wednesday. 'Her running mate Tim Kaine, who by the way did a terrible job in New Jersey -- first act he did in New Jersey was ask for a $4 billion tax increase and he was not very popular in New Jersey and he still isn't,' Trump said. Corrected by reporters, who suggested he might be confusing Kaine with Thomas Kean, a Republican who governed New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, Trump clarified. 'What? I mean Virginia.' The New Jersey tax increase that Trump may or may not been talking about came not under Kean, a Republican, but his successor Jim Florio, a Democrat." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Hadas Gold of Politico: "Donald Trump once again targeted NBC News correspondent Katy Tur during a Wednesday news conference, telling the reporter to 'be quiet.'... As Tur asked another question a few minutes later, mentioning Trump's poll numbers, Trump once again mocked her.... This is far from the first time Trump has picked on Tur." -- CW (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Philip Bump of the Washington Post "decided to simply 'post the full transcript and annotate ... [Trump's] misrepresentations and falsehoods." ...

... Nahal Toosi & Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Donald Trump's call on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails has shocked, flabbergasted and appalled lawmakers and national security experts across the political spectrum, with one ... William Inboden, who served on the NSC during the George W. Bush administration ... saying it was 'tantamount to treason.'" -- CW ...

... Ezra Klein: "This isn't normal behavior from a major American politician.... After he picked Mike Pence, empowered campaign chair Paul Manafort, and gave a structured convention speech, there looked to be a chance that Trump was unveiling a new, more sober persona for the general election. But he can't do it. He can't suppress his own mania for even a week.... Donald Trump, of late, has been acting pretty crazy." -- CW ...

... Jonathan Chait: "This is Trump's response to the accusation that he is unduly close to a hostile foreign power: to ask its spies to break American law in order to help him win.... When he's openly calling on them to carry out espionage on your behalf, it's not even a matter of speculation -- it's just simple fact."

Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "A top aide to Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Republican presidential nominee 'will not be releasing' his taxes.' 'Mr. Trump has said that his taxes are under audit and he will not be releasing them,' Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort told 'CBS This Morning.'" -- CW

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Daniel Victor of the New York Times: "Addressing Michelle Obama's remarks about slaves having built the White House, Bill O'Reilly said Tuesday on his Fox News program that those slaves were 'well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government.' His comments drew swift rebukes online. He fired back on his Wednesday program..., [and] attributed the criticism to 'smear merchants'...." As he characterized his comments as '... fact. Not a justification, not a defense of slavery.'... Jesse Holland..., who wrote [a book about slave in the White House]..., said ... there's no historical evidence either way on the question of how well fed the slaves were, he said. Many of the slaves lived in a structure described as a barn, Mr. Holland said." -- CW

Other News & Views

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The United States is poring over a vast trove of new intelligence about Islamic State fighters who have flowed into Syria and Iraq and some who then returned to their home countries, information that American officials say could help fight militants on the battlefield and prevent potential plotters from slipping into Europe." -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Kevin Rector & Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun: "Prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in a downtown courtroom on Wednesday morning, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history. The startling move was an apparent acknowledgement of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other officers on similar and more serious charges by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Margaret Chadbourn of ABC News: "John Hinckley, Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been granted 'full-time convalescent leave' and will be released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he has been in treatment. A federal judge granted the leave, which will begin as early as Aug. 5, according to court documents. He is permitted to reside full-time in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his mother at her home, and his monitoring conditions were set by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman of Washington." -- CW (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Alissa Rubin & Adam Nossiter of the New York Times: "The question troubling France on Wednesday in the wake of the attack by a teenager who aspired to go to Syria, but settled instead for cutting the throat of a priest, is whether the crime was a result of failures by the French government, and what more could have been done to prevent it.... Questions [were] immediately raised about how a perpetrator well known to the authorities was nonetheless left free to kill.... The crime was committed during a state of emergency that already gives the government added powers to constrain potential terrorists, and ... one of the perpetrators was essentially on probation and wearing an electronic bracelet at the time of the attack." -- CW

The Commentariat -- July 27, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Unhinged U.S. Presidential Candidate Urges Russia to Breach U.S. Security. Jose DelReal of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hoped that Russia would hack into Hillary Clinton's email server to find 'missing' messages and release them to the public. 'Russia, if you're listening I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,' Trump said during a press conference at his Doral resort in South Florida on Wednesday. 'They probably have them. I'd like to have them release. It gives me no pause, if they have them, they have them,' Trump added later when asked if his comments were inappropriate. 'If Russia or China or any other country has those emails, I mean to be honest with you, I'd love to see them.'... [Trump] sought ... to distance himself from allegations that the Russian government hacked into the Democratic National Committee to benefit his campaign.... 'It is so farfetched. It's so ridiculous. Honestly I wish I had that power. I'd love to have that power but Russia has no respect for our country,' Trump said." -- CW ...

... Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that he hoped Russia had hacked Hillary Clinton's email, essentially sanctioning a foreign power's cyberspying of a secretary of state's correspondence.... Mr. Trump's call was an extraordinary moment at a time when Russia is being accused of meddling in the U.S. presidential election.... At the news conference..., [Trump] refused to unequivocally call on Vladimir V. Putin ... to not meddle in the United States' presidential election. 'I'm not going to tell Putin what to do,' Mr. Trump said. 'Why should I tell Putin what to do?'" -- CW ...

     ... Looks Like mike pence didn't get the memo. Reuters: "... Mike Pence on Wednesday vowed there would be 'serious consequences' if the FBI determines Russia is behind recent hacking attempt and is meddling in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election." -- CW ...

     ... AND Paul Ryan was never in the loop. Esme Cribb of TPM: "The top spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had strong words in response to Donald Trump's call for Russian hackers to 'find' and release the deleted emails from Hillary Clinton's private server. 'Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug,' Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck told The Guardian. 'Putin should stay out of this election.'" -- CW ...

... Lisa Hagen of the Hill: "Donald Trump said Wednesday he doesn't know Russian President Vladimir Putin, contradicting a claim he made last year that he knows the leader 'very well.' 'I never met Putin. I don't know who Putin is,' the GOP nominee said at a press conference.... 'He said one nice thing about me. He said I'm a genius,' Trump continued. 'I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin.'" -- CW ...

... Louis Nelson of Politico: "President Barack Obama 'has been the most ignorant president in our history,'... Donald Trump said on Wednesday." CW: As we know by now, Trump tries to obscure his own deficiencies by accusing his rivals of having his own shortcomings. ...

... As if to prove my point ...

... Politico: "Donald Trump mixed up Hillary Clinton's running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, with the former governor of New Jersey during a news conference on Wednesday. 'Her running mate Tim Kaine, who by the way did a terrible job in New Jersey -- first act he did in New Jersey was ask for a $4 billion tax increase and he was not very popular in New Jersey and he still isn't,' Trump said. Corrected by reporters, who suggested he might be confusing Kaine with Thomas Kean, a Republican who governed New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, Trump clarified. 'What? I mean Virginia.' The New Jersey tax increase that Trump may or may not been talking about came not under Kean, a Republican, but his successor Jim Florio, a Democrat." -- CW ...

... Hadas Gold of Politico: "Donald Trump once again targeted NBC News correspondent Katy Tur during a Wednesday news conference, telling the reporter to 'be quiet.'... As Tur asked another question a few minutes later, mentioning Trump's poll numbers, Trump once again mocked her.... This is far from the first time Trump has picked on Tur." -- CW

Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "Hillary Clinton's campaign is furiously pushing back against a close ally's claims that the Democratic nominee will reverse her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership if elected president. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend and surrogate for the Clintons, has been saying in interviews over the last 24 hours that Clinton would support passage of the Obama administration's international trade deal or seek to renegotiate it if elected president. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta swatted down McAuliffe's claim on Wednesday. 'I can be definitive -- she is against it before the election and after the election,' Podesta told reporters. 'She is not interested in renegotiating the TPP,' he added." -- CW

Kevin Rector & Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun: "Prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in a downtown courtroom on Wednesday morning, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history. The startling move was an apparent acknowledgement of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other officers on similar and more serious charges by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well." -- CW

Margaret Chadbourn of ABC News: "John Hinckley, Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been granted 'full-time convalescent leave' and will be released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he has been in treatment. A federal judge granted the leave, which will begin as early as Aug. 5, according to court documents. He is permitted to reside full-time in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his mother at her home, and his monitoring conditions were set by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman of Washington." -- CW

*****

Democratic Convention & Presidential Race

John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton on Tuesday became the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party on a historic night during which her campaign also sought to reintroduce her to skeptical voters and calm continuing tensions here. Part of that task fell to former president Bill Cinton, who delivered a keynote speech ... that began by recounting his courtship of his wife and detailed her lengthy career in public service, including helping children, immigrants and people with disabilities.... The evening ended with Hillary Clinton appearing on a large screen, remote from New York, thanking the delegates for helping her put 'the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet.'" -- CW ...

... Women's Work. "I Met a Girl." Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "As long and detailed and rambling as the speech was, it's what every woman who has ever had a job wishes her husband would say about her.... She worked and worked and worked -- usually for men with important names. She got no credit, but I am crediting her now.... And then the sound of rubber hitting road: 'How' asked Bill Clinton, 'does this square with what you heard at the Republican convention?' And all of a sudden the insane amount of detail in his speech made sense. One version of Hillary is real, Bill argued, and 'one is made up.'" ...

... Jeet Heer of the New Republic: "... it was to Bill Clinton's credit that ... he was able to craft a speech where he kept the focus on his wife and used his political capital to persuade voters to overcome their doubts about her. The speech was heavily autobiographical, lifting passages almost word for word from his 2004 memoir My Life. Although the material was recycled, Bill was adept at speaking the words in a way that seemed deceptively natural.... Bill's storytelling skills were in the service of humanizing Hillary, showing her to be a strong, independent woman...." CW ...

Democrat Plagiarism Scandal! In Convention Speech, Bill Clinton Plagiarizes Former President! Yes, people, just like last week at the Republican convention when First-Lady-hopeful Melania Trump plagiarized the convention speech of the current First Lady, First-Hubby-hopeful Bill Clinton plagiarized the words of a former president -- and spouse of the current nominee -- at the Democrat convention. In an odd coincidence (or is it??), speechwriters for both parties are unable to write original material for potential First Spouses. Noted Atlantic columnist Ron Fournier was quick to point out that both sides do it. Amidst the outrage, and in an exemplary display of nonpartisanship, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Jason Chaffetz (R) announced he would convene hearings to investigate both Clintons. -- CW ...

... CW: Since perhaps no one else will say so, I thought the most effective part of the evening was the parade of ordinary people with extraordinary challenges who spoke about how Hillary had helped them. They, to me, were a lot more convincing & enlightening that Bill Clinton's sales pitch. ...

     ... I also liked the brief speech by Rep. Joe Crowley (Queens, N.Y.):

     ... AND Howard Dean is a pretty good sport:

... But perhaps the most significant, if not the most heart-tugging, remarks came from the U.S.'s former top diplomat:

[Hillary Clinton] knows that safeguarding freedom and security is not like hosting a reality TV show. It is a complex, round-the-clock job that demands not only a steady hand and a cool head, but also a big heart. You are not just representing yourself, you are there for all of us. Hillary has displayed these qualities in every job has has ever had. And last week in Cleveland, we were reminded that her opponent possesses none of them. Many have argued that Donald Trump would harm our national security if he were elected president. The fact is: He has already done damage, just by running for president. -- Madelaine Albright

... Charles Pierce has the text of her full remarks. ...

... ** Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: "Democrats formally nominated Hillary Clinton for president on Tuesday, looking to move beyond the lingering anger that has brought protests and dissension to their convention as they unite behind the first female candidate to represent a major American political party. Mrs. Clinton officially became the party's standard-bearer in a roll-call vote of delegates on the floor of the convention. During the voting, Senator Bernie Sanders, who rallied millions of voters to his side in his battle against Mrs. Clinton, could be seen tearing up with his wife, Jane, sitting by his side. The crowd erupted in cheers when South Dakota's delegates cast their votes, putting Mrs. Clinton over the threshold for the nomination. The voting ended with a symbolic flourish, with the delegation from Mr. Sanders's home state of Vermont moving to make the Clinton nomination unanimous by acclamation." -- CW ...

... CW: In every day and every way, the Democratic convention is more thrilling that the Trumpican convention. ...

... Here's the New York Times' "live briefing." The Washington Post's live updates are here. ...

... Dave Weigel & John Wagner of the Washington Post: Sanders' move to nominate Clinton by acclamation "was the latest necessary step if Sanders was to do what few defeated insurgents have done: transform a presidential bid into a coherent and lasting movement of new voters. 'They had never been in a Democratic Party meeting,' Sanders said at a Tuesday morning breakfast with reporters. 'They wanted to get involved. And it would be a terrible, terrible shame if we do not figure out a way to capture that energy, to capture that idealism, to capture that love of this country.' As he has wound down his presidential campaign, Sanders has begun to build new organizations and plan for a possible power move if Democrats regain the Senate. He has officially launched Our Revolution, a 501(c)(4) 'social welfare' group to build support for liberal policies." -- CW ...

... Ed O'Keefe, et al., of the Washington Post: Hillary "Clinton is poised to be the Democratic presidential nominee, but her campaign spent most of Tuesday in talks to give her vanquished opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a symbolic role in the formal nomination process in a bid to heal rifts in the party." -- CW ...

Jordan Fabian of the Hill: President "Obama said Russian President Vladimir Putin might prefer Republican nominee Donald Trump over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, because the business magnate has 'repeatedly expressed admiration' for the Russian leader in the past. 'I am basing this on what Mr. Trump himself has said,' the president said. 'And I think that -- Trump's gotten pretty favorable coverage -- back in Russia. The president's comments add considerable heft to mounting evidence that Russian hackers were behind the DNC hack. Obama said that the FBI is still investigating the origin of the hack, but he acknowledged that 'experts have attributed this to the Russians.'" -- CW ...

... Kevin Drum: "It's one thing when a campaign manager or some campaign surrogates say that Vladimir Putin is working to help elect Trump. It's quite another when the president says it. [CW: Especially this president, who is a careful speaker.].... And Trump himself is making things worse.... 'For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia,' [Trump tweeted. The question is] ... whether Russian money funds his business here -- which might explain why he's so friendly to Russian interests. He has very carefully avoided answering that question. That's a bad sign since he would normally just lie about it. He must know that evidence of his reliance on Russian money is out there. Trump's tax returns would tell us the answer, of course, but Trump has declined to release them.... Maybe now we know why." -- CW ...

... Matthew Chance of CNN: "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said Tuesday his whistleblowing website might release 'a lot more material' relevant to the US electoral campaign.... Assange refused to confirm or deny a Russian origin for the mass email leak, saying Wikileaks tries to create ambiguity to protect all its sources." -- CW ...

... Charlie Savage & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "American intelligence agencies have told the White House they now have 'high confidence' that the Russian government was behind the theft of emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee, according to federal officials who have been briefed on the evidence. But intelligence agencies have cautioned that they are uncertain whether the electronic break-in at the committee's computer systems was intended as fairly routine cyberespionage -- of the kind the United States also conducts around the world -- or as part of an effort to manipulate the 2016 presidential election.... It is unclear how the documents made their way to [Wikileaks]." -- CW ...

... Charlie Savage: "Six weeks before ... WikiLeaks published an archive of hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of the Democratic convention, the organization's founder, Julian Assange, foreshadowed the release -- and made it clear that he hoped to harm Hillary Clinton's chances of winning the presidency." -- CW ...

... Ken Vogel & Isaac Arnsdorf of Politico: "Leaked emails show the Democratic National Committee scrambled this spring to conceal the details of a joint fundraising arrangement with Hillary Clinton that funneled money through state Democratic parties. But during the three-month period when the DNC was working to spin the situation, state parties kept less than one half of one percent of the $82 million raised through the arrangement -- validating concerns raised by campaign finance watchdogs, state party allies and Bernie Sanders supporters.... The emails show the officials agreeing to withhold information from reporters about the Hillary Victory Fund's allocation formula, working to align their stories about when -- or if -- the DNC had begun funding coordinated campaign committees with the states." -- CW ...

... Alec Goodwin of Open Secrets: "Email exchanges involving top officials at the Democratic National Committee released along with private documents by WikiLeaks show that DNC officials hoped to reward top donors and insiders with appointments to federal boards and commissions in coordination with the White House.... None of the individuals on the list have been appointed to boards or commissions since the email exchanges took place almost three months ago. A few were named to slots in previous years. The White House strongly denied any link between financial support for the party and appointments." -- CW ...

... Franklin Foer argues in Slate that the Russian hack is worse than Watergate. -- CW

The Once and Former Democrat. Both Martin Longman, in the Washington Monthly, and the Googles testify that the Washington Post's top story on Clinton's nomination says Bernie Sanders "confirmed on Tuesday that he will return to the Senate as an independent, not a Democrat." But the language isn't in the Post story any more. CW: It isn't clear whether the assertion was removed because of space constraints or because it isn't true, but it looks like the former: according to a tweet by Susan Page of USA Today, Sanders told reporters yesterday he would be an independent senator. Longman complains, "It ... feels like a con game even if it isn't necessarily quite that."

"How to Answer a Damaging Charge by an Opponent" by Donald J. Trump. (1) Whether or not the charge is true, always begin by calling your opponent a liar. (2) Make conflicting AND incoherent remarks. Example: Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: After Bernie Sanders, in his Monday night convention speech, accused Donald Trump of wanting to allow states to lower the minimum wage below $7.25 an hour -- a charge PolitiFact rated as mostly true -- investigative journalist Bill O'Reilly asked Trump to clarify his position. "After accusing Sanders of lying, Trump said, 'I would leave it and raise it somewhat.... I know it's not very Republican to say but you need to help people.'... Trump went on to say $10 sounds like a reasonable number, but added, 'the thing is, Bill, let the states make the deal.'" -- CW ...

     ... Greg Sargent: "So basically, Trump flip-flopped and then back-flipped, holding three different positions in succession. The real story here is that Trump has no actual position on the minimum wage. His whole candidacy is a scam." -- CW

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: White supremacist & former Klan leader David "Duke said on Monday that [Donald] Trump did 'as much as he could' in a weekend interview to suggest that he could back Mr. Duke, who is seeking a Louisiana Senate seat. Asked about Mr. Duke's remarks, Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, emailed, 'Again, Mr. Trump has disavowed David Duke and will continue to do so.'... When Mr. Trump was asked Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press' if he would support a Democrat over Mr. Duke in the general election, he replied: 'I guess depending on who the Democrat is, but the answer would be yes....' On his radio program on Monday, Mr. Duke said..., '... You know, Trump basically said he could possibly vote, he could vote for David Duke if he was running against a liberal Democrat. So he did something. I think he felt like he did as much as he could do.'" -- CW

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. When Bill O'Reilly Fact-Checks Michelle Obama. David Ferguson of the Raw Story: "O'Reilly was piqued that the First Lady pointed out that the White House was built by slaves. 'Slaves that worked there were well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802,' [O'Reilly said]. CW: So fat, happy slaves living the life of (O')Reilly. Let's all sing "Swanee River," people, & fondly remember the days on the old plantation.

Senate Races

John Bresnahan, et al., of Politico: "Rep. Alan Grayson's ex-wife repeatedly went to police with accusations of domestic abuse over a two-decade period, according to documents she has provided to Politico, revelations that come as the Florida congressman enters the final weeks of his Democratic primary campaign for Senate. Lolita Grayson called police on her husband at least two times in Virginia and two more times in Florida, sought medical attention on at least two occasions and said that, in one instance, he had threatened to kill her, according to a police report." -- CW ...

... Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "At an event hosted by Politico in Philadelphia, site of the Democratic National Convention, Grayson on Tuesday got in the face of -- and made contact with -- Edward-Isaac Dovere, a reporter for Politico, which earlier in the day published claims of abuse by the congressman's ex-wife. If you're looking to dispute a characterization as a hot-tempered man who could be prone to violent acts, that may not be the best approach.... After Politico published its report on Tuesday, Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee withdrew their endorsements of Grayson." -- CW ...

... Kevin Robillard & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Rep. Alan Grayson's Senate campaign began disintegrating Tuesday as supporters and a top consultant abandoned him in the wake of a Politico report detailing decades of domestic-abuse allegations from his wife." -- CW ...

... Jason Zengerle of New York: Grayson "blames the bad headlines and the ensuing congressional ethics investigation into his hedge fund ... on researchers working for his [primary] opponent [Rep. Patrick Murphy]. 'Murphy has a staff of five people in communications who literally do nothing but call people all day long and try to throw dirt on me,' he said. And according to a confidant, he also suspects Murphy and his allies may have been behind the almost two-year court battle over his annulment, especially since the final two of the six lawyers Lolita worked with are from Murphy's stomping grounds in South Florida." -- CW

Gubernatorial Race

Brian Eason, et al., of the Indianapolis Star (July 26): "The Indiana Republican central committee has nominated Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb for governor, snubbing two members of Congress in favor of Gov. Mike Pence's former running mate." -- CW

Other News & Views

Julie Davis of the New York Times: "The White House on Tuesday announced a substantial expansion of a program to admit Central American refugees to the United States, conceding that its efforts to protect migrants fleeing dangerous conditions has been inadequate and left too many vulnerable people with no recourse." -- CW

Dahlia Lithwick: "Last week saw three major victories for voting rights. Federal courts struck down draconian voter ID laws in Texas and Wisconsin, and a federal judge in Michigan struck down a rule that would have barred straight-ticket voting.... These courts ... are now closely watching the efforts at voter suppression and finding that the myth of voter fraud does not justify the tangible harms these laws do to many voters.... But last week also saw a major voting setback when the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Terry McAuliffe's move to restore voting rights to 200,000 disenfranchised felons violated the Virginia Constitution.... Still, the ruling also held that McAuliffe is allowed to lawfully restore voting rights for former felons, but only by individually signing the restoration orders.... That's just what he has now pledged to do in all 206,000 or so cases.... Let's bear in mind that the results of this election will go a long way toward deciding the extent to which the courts will protect the voting rights of all Americans or leave the most vulnerable out in the storm." -- CW

After conducting an exhaustive investigation, famous climate truther Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Fracklahoma) revealed last week that notorious government schools had brainwashed his own granddaughter. It seems she came home from school one and asked him why he didn't understand global warming. Apparently Inhofe failed to give the inquisitive tyke the easy, five-word answer: "Oil and gas lobby, Sweetiepie." -- CW

Way Beyond the Beltway

Kim Willsher & Julian Borger of the Guardian: "The murder of a priest and the wounding of one of his parishioners in Normandy was an act of terrorism carried out by two followers of Islamic State, the French president, François Hollande, has said. A witness to the attack has described how the two men forced the 86-year-old priest, Father Jacques Hamel, to his knees, slit his throat and filmed themselves appearing to preach in Arabic at the altar." -- CW

The Commentariat -- July 26, 2016

Democratic National Convention & Presidential Race

See also yesterday's Afternoon Update.

Dan Roberts & Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: "A stormy opening night of the Democratic convention battered the Philadelphia arena on Monday as defiant Bernie Sanders supporters resisted attempts to persuade them to embrace Hillary Clinton. Impassioned pleas for unity from a trio of Democratic women led by Michelle Obama raised hopes that the tumultuous first day of the convention may provide catharsis. But despite a direct plea for calm from Sanders, many of his 1,846 delegates in the arena repeatedly jeered at mentions of the party's presumptive nominee for the first hour or two of the evening." -- CW

Abby Phillip & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Bernie Sanders closed out the first day of the Democratic party's convention with a forceful plea for his supporters to get behind ... Hillary Clinton.... Sanders stood, taking in the adulation for several long minutes before launching into what would prove to be a challenging task: finally bringing his supporters into Clinton's fold. 'If you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country,' Sanders warned":

     ... Here's the text of Sanders' speech, as prepared, via Politico. -- CW ...

Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "... as she took the stage in prime time Monday night at the Democratic National Convention for perhaps the most anticipated speech of her career, [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren positioned herself to wield singular power over Democratic politics and the party's policy agenda from her perch in the Senate, no matter who wins the presidency":

Abby Phillip & Sean Sullivan: "First lady Michelle Obama delivered a powerful character witness on behalf of the Democratic Party's nominee, Hillary Clinton, and urged her party to not be complacent":

... CW: Copy that, Melania. ...

... Gail Collins: "O.K., Michelle Obama stole the show. It would be hard to beat an African-American first lady saying that she woke up every morning: 'in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.' But she went further than that -- further, really, in lambasting the opposition than is traditional for someone in the Official Wife position. And it worked very, very well." (CW: You may want to scroll on down the page; there are several other short takes on the convention, but there is no way to isolate them.) ...

... Rebecca Traister of New York: "... it was not an elected official, but one of the most brilliant and inspiring first ladies in American history, Michelle Obama, who lit up the room, silenced the booing throngs, and opened up a can of elegant whoop-ass on everyone who has been behaving poorly, all without mentioning any offenders by name." -- CW

Brian Beutler: "... by the end of the evening, the disarray story became impossible to credit.... The basic competence, and occasional brilliance, of the stagecraft left no room for anyone other than the most partisan operatives to pretend the two conventions and parties are equally broken.... Clinton's convention lineup wasn't designed to contrast with Trump's brigade of C-list celebrities and agitators, though it did do that. It was instead meant to serve as a demonstration that Clinton is widely respected in the Democratic Party, which is much less divided than a handful of Sanders delegates would have you believe. Where Trump insists to the public that Republicans are unified, Clinton and her supporters showed that they are." -- CW ...

... NEW. Greg Sargent: "What last night really showed is that there will be a profound, fundamental imbalance between the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns when it comes to the wattage of surrogates out there making the case this fall.The biggest speeches of the night, from New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, projected a tone that seemed designed to contrast sharply with the hate-and-rage-fest otherwise known as the GOP convention.... this is also another way in which there is simply no equivalence between the degree of disunity that is afflicting the two parties." -- CW

The New York Times' "live briefing" of the convention is here. ...

     ... 6 pm ET: "Hundreds of Bernie Sanders supporters drowned out the Vermont senator with boos Monday as he tried to make the case that his fans would need to vote for Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald J. Trump." CW: I'd say they're not Sanders "supporters" if they booed him. More like brats & malcontents.

... Sean Sullivan & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz excused herself from gaveling in the convention, bowing to heavy pressure from party activists. It was one of many dramatic developments during a day of discord that threatened to distract from high-profile speeches meant to convey Democratic unity on the first day of the convention.... The floor of the Democratic National Convention was awash with anti-Hillary Clinton sentiment and sporadic protests as it opened Monday afternoon. Every mention of her name drew boos from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's supporters, who toted signs railing against trade pacts and distracting from the speakers on stage. Televisions news cameras and anchors swarmed each uprising, broadcasting it live and furiously tweeting the latest chants. The barrage of activity and Klieg lights only seemed to encourage the rabble rousing, which continued on for more than an hour." -- CW ...

... "Mayhem Breaks Out"! Nick Gass of Politico: "Democrats on Monday struggled to contain the chaos that threatened to take hold in Philadelphia, as Debbie Wasserman Schultz bowed out of plans to gavel in the Democratic National Convention and restless Bernie Sanders' supporters lashed out.... Clinton's campaign insisted Monday that Sanders would 'double down' on his endorsement of Clinton weeks ago in New Hampshire, 'in contrast to Ted Cruz,' who caused an uproar in Cleveland by telling Americans to 'vote your conscience' rather than explicitly endorsing Trump." -- CW ...

... Ruby Kramer of BuzzFeed: "Bernie Sanders' campaign manager repudiated a fledgling grassroots effort by progressive activists at the Democratic National Convention to challenge Sen. Tim Kaine as the party's vice presidential nominee. 'It's very divisive,' said Jeff Weaver, the top strategist.... 'She's the presidential nominee. If Bernie were the nominee, would you want the conservatives trying to nominate our vice president?'" -- CW ...

... Liz Goodwin of Yahoo! News: "Sen. Bernie Sanders sent a text message to the leaders of his delegation pleading with them not to protest on the Democratic convention floor Monday night. 'I ask you as a personal courtesy to me to not engage in any kind of protest on the floor,' he wrote in the text message to his delegate whips. 'Its of utmost importance you explain this to your delegations.'" -- CW ...

... Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "Bernie Sanders supporters should stop calling for Hillary Clinton to be put in prison, Jeff Weaver said Monday ahead of the start of the Democratic National Convention. 'I know emotions are running high right now, but I think people really have to consider the implications of what a [Donald] Trump presidency would mean for those of us who support the kind of agenda that Bernie Sanders has laid out for the country,' Weaver, who served as campaign manager for Sanders's presidential bid, told The Hill.... On Sunday, immediately preceding the opening of the Democratic convention, supporters of the Vermont senator reportedly marched through the streets of Philadelphia, chanting, 'Lock her up.'" -- CW ...

... "Fart-in, Smoke-in and Actual Crowds Come to Philly After Boring RNC Protests." Steven Nelson of US News: "After surprisingly few people took to the streets of Cleveland last week to protest Donald Trump's nomination at the Republican National Convention, this week's Democratic convention will prove activism isn't dead.... The number of participants opposing or seeking to influence Hillary Clinton on Sunday alone -- before the convention began -- easily exceeded the number of protesters targeting Trump in an entire week.... Along for the ride will be at least one -- maybe two -- enormous fan-operated inflatable joints, which cannabis activists led by the D.C. Cannabis Campaign will march south toward the convention center.... Some Sanders delegates will participate in the anti-Clinton 'fart in.'..." CW: Let's feed 'em beans. ...

... Those Protesters (Including Some Delegates) Aren't Democrats. Paul Waldman: "The Democratic Party isn't being torn apart from the inside; it's being attacked from the outside.... For a certain kind of activist on the left, the real enemy is never the right; it's always the liberals who are insufficiently committed to their brand of revolution.... For some of [Sanders'] most ardent followers, joining the Democratic Party was never part of the deal. Many of the ones now protesting are quite open about the fact that their goal is to destroy the party.... This is a real contrast with the conflicts we saw highlighted in Cleveland...." -- CW ...

... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Pew asked ... consistent Sanders supporters whom they support in the general election. Ninety percent said they back Hillary Clinton.... Last week, as the Republican convention was going on, Pew offered similar research about the Republicans. Of the 44 percent of the party that never supported Donald Trump, 79 percent were planning on backing him in the general election -- lower than the percentage of Sanders supporters backing Clinton, but still nearly 8 in 10. So why so much outrage in Philadelphia? Delegates to party conventions are not normal members of political parties." -- CW ...

** Why Are Sanders Delegates Such Jerks? Blame the Clinton Establishment. Matt Yglesias of Vox: "Sanders had little control over his delegates.... This was in part a matter of sloppiness on the part of Sanders's team in selecting delegates. But as one operative told me, there was another reason Sanders's delegation was so unruly: Everyone was so afraid to cross Clinton by serving as a Sanders delegate that he couldn't convince the kind of party loyalists who normally take the job to do it.... Many Sanders delegates come from the world of left-wing protest culture rather than party politics." -- CW

Lose the Air Quotes, Donald Donaldovich. Katherine Krueger of TPM: "Donald Trump on Monday attributed the Democratic National Committee hack that led to the ouster of its chair to 'one of our many, many "friends"' in Russia or China.... 'Little did [Wasserman Schultz] know, Russia, China, one of our many, many "friends"' -- Trump emphasized with air quotes -- 'came in and hacked the hell out of us.'" -- CW ...

... ** Thomas Rid in Vice: "The forensic evidence linking the DNC breach to known Russian operations is very strong. On June 20, two competing cybersecurity companies, Mandiant (part of FireEye) and Fidelis, confirmed CrowdStrike's initial findings that Russian intelligence indeed hacked Clinton's campaign.... The larger operation, with its manipulative traits, fits well into the wider framework of Russia's evolving military doctrine, known as New Generation Warfare or the 'Gerasimov Doctrine,' named after Valery Gerasimov, the current Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.... The operation is not over." -- CW ...

... Shane Harris & Nancy Youssef of the Daily Beast: "The theory that Moscow orchestrated the leaks to help Trump, who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and practically called for the end of NATO, is fast gaining currency within the Obama administration because of the timing of the leaks and Trump's own connections to the Russian government.... Two U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that while hacking is a crime, and therefore falls under the FBI's jurisdiction, trying to manipulate an election is not. That may limit what the FBI can investigate...." -- CW ...

Dana Houle in the New Republic: "The main problem with the notion that the DNC rigged the results for Clinton is that it requires one to assume the improbable. The DNC had no role or authority in primary contests, which are run by state governments. Clinton dominated the primaries. The DNC, through state parties, had a bit more influence over caucuses ... where Sanders dominated Clinton.... Furthermore, if it is true that last fall Clinton campaign chair John Podesta tried but failed to have DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz sacked, the underlying premise of the entire WikiLeaks dump -- that Wasserman Schultz machinated to deliver Clinton the nomination -- is hard to believe." ...

     ... Houle identifies the real threat to the party that the Russian DNC hacks signalled: just as "Republican operatives jammed the phone lines of Democratic phone banks in New Hampshire, possibly costing them a seat in the U.S. Senate," so could Drumpovich-leaning hackers mess up "the digital and data infrastructure of the Democratic Party and its allies in organized labor and liberal interest groups." -- CW ...

... CW: Echoing what I wrote yesterday, Paul Waldman writes: "... the fact that Russia is trying to swing the outcome of an American presidential election is about a million times more important than the fact that some DNC staffers talked trash about Bernie Sanders in emails to one another."

Prognostications on the Trumpinproletariat: "How Rousseau Predicted Trump." Pankaj Mishra in the New Yorker: "No Enlightenment thinker observing our current predicament from the afterlife would be able to say 'I told you so' as confidently as Jean-Jacques Rousseau..., who was memorably described by Isaiah Berlin as the 'greatest militant lowbrow in history.' In his major writings, beginning in the seventeen-fifties, Rousseau thrived on his loathing of metropolitan vanity, his distrust of technocrats and of international trade, and his advocacy of traditional mores.... Against today's backdrop of political rage, however, Rousseau seems to have grasped, and embodied, better than anyone the incendiary appeal of victimhood in societies built around the pursuit of wealth and power." -- CW

Annals of "Journalism" & Journalism, Ctd. New York invites media luminaries to critique the media. -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 22): "Gov. Scott Walker on Friday named a little-known Waukesha lawyer with no judicial experience to the state Supreme Court, putting Daniel Kelly on the bench and keeping in place the high court's 5-2 conservative majority. Kelly -- who in his application called affirmative action and slavery the same morally -- will replace retiring Justice David Prosser on Aug. 1, the start of the court's new term. Kelly, 52, initially applied for the appointment in secret, but his name became public in June.... Kelly took just one question from reporters after Walker announced the appointment in the state Capitol, but he declined to discuss his writings opposing affirmative action and gay marriage." -- CW ...

... OR, as Charles Pierce put it, Walker "is hard at work still putting the bananas in his banana republic...." -- CW