US Elections 2024: Barack Obama takes stage on Day 2 of Democratic National Convention, stirs nostalgia | Top 10 Updates

US Elections 2024: Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago saw former United States President Barack Obama take the stage in support of party nominee Kamala Harris. Notably, Chicago is Obama's hometown, and his delegates spent the week garnering ground support amid a swell of nostalgia for his time as president, Bloomberg reported.

The report added that across the DNC campaign, comparisons to 2008 abound, with the party faithfully hopeful that Harris’s race against Donald Trump would assemble the same broad coalition that Obama drew and could deliver a commanding win.

Harris' journey to the presidential nomination has been exciting — from the party suffering doubts and infighting over continuing current US President Joe Biden's bid to a rallying cry around Harris that has given them a tailwind, the report said.

Hoping to Recapture the Electoral Magic

Harris, the first woman of colour to lead a major party presidential ticket in the US elections, offers voters an opportunity to break through historic barriers. And she highlighted key figures from Obama’s team to help her navigate the sprint.

“It did remind me a lot of 2008. I’ve been around politics a long time, and you kind of know when people are all in," David Plouffe, who managed Obama’s campaign in 2008 told Bloomberg.

Big Tent, Big Names

Obama’s keynote will be proceeded by other prominent figures from his home state, with Governor JB Pritzker — the Hyatt Hotels billionaire seen as a leading figure in Democrats’ next class of presidential aspirants — and Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, among the highlights.

But Democrats will also devote time to marketing Harris to a wide swath of voters who haven’t rallied behind a political candidate since Obama’s 2008 run.

Senator Bernie Sanders, Vermont lawmaker and liberal stalwart, will speak — as did Stephanie Grisham, who served as Trump’s press secretary but has since disavowed him as unfit for office.

The enthusiasm was apparent during a buoyant roll call, with a DJ pumping a soundtrack tailored to each state and celebrity cameos including rapper Lil Jon and director Spike Lee.

Political spouses will also get a moment in the spotlight, with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and former First Lady Michelle Obama speaking to the crowd.

There will be particular attention on how Obama — who memorably told Democrats that “when they go low, we go high” at 2016’s gathering — may alter her message for a third consecutive convention where her party is seeking to counter Trump.

Harris herself executed an unorthodox move, holding a massive rally in Milwaukee competing with her own convention. The event, held at a packed Fiserv Forum — where Republicans just a month ago held their own gathering — evoked Obama’s decision to break with convention protocol and hold his 2008 acceptance speech at a football stadium in Denver.

“This is a people-powered campaign and together we will chart a new way forward,” Harris said.

‘Work to Do’

Jen O’Malley Dillon, who served as campaign chair under Biden and retained the role under Harris, said they’ve seen an “extraordinary consolidation” of the Democratic Party base since the change.

“Does that mean we’re good there and we can just peace out and not worry about it? Of course not,” she said at an event hosted by Georgetown University.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, an ally of Harris, said the energy among younger voters in particular has been remarkable. “It’s coming from this profound yearning I’m seeing in Americans who want to turn a page. We should never have another octogenarian president — I won’t say never again, but right now, we need younger people. We need a new generation,” Booker said on the DNC sidelines.

Top 10 Updates

• The DNC's second night highlighted the party's past presidents, particularly Chicago's own Barack Obama. The Democrats also turned to grandsons of other former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and John F Kennedy to portray Harris as the natural heir of past Democratic leaders.
• “Kamala Harris carries my grandfather’s legacy,” said Jason Carter, the grandson of the 39th president. “She knows what is right and she fights for it.”
• Jack Schlossberg suggested that Harris would carry forward the agenda of Kennedy. "She believes in America like my grandfather did," Schlossberg said. “That we do things not because they’re easy, but because they’re hard.”
• Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, held a parallel rally in Milwaukee, wooing voters in swing state Wisconsin. It's a recognition that, regardless of whatever good vibes may exist at the convention, Democrats expect this presidential election to be razor-close, an AP report said.
• Usually, governors or state party chairs call out the state votes, but this time the mic was also passed to individuals with serious messages. Kate Cox, who unsuccessfully sued her home state of Texas while seeking an abortion for a non-viable fetus, announced the states' votes; and a survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas strip gun massacre announced Nevada’s votes.

• This time the DNC also turned into a raucous dance party. DJ Cassidy strode on stage in a bright blue double-breasted suit and spun tunes for every state as they nominated Harris and Walz. Minnesota got “1999” by native son Prince, Kansas got “Carry on Wayward Son” by, well, Kansas. “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen played as New Jersey weighed in. The roll call highlight was when Atlanta rapper Lil Jon strode through the United Center to the beats of “Turn Down for What,” his song with DJ Snake, and rapped his support for Harris and Walz.
• The Democrats are making a play for disaffected Trump voters — and they used one of his former White House staffers to make their case. Stephanie Grisham said, “He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth. I couldn’t be part of the insanity any longer."
• Republican Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, also was to speak about why he’s backing Harris. Giles sees Trump’s policies as hurting cities like his.
• The enthusiasm was apparent during a buoyant roll call, with a DJ pumping a soundtrack tailored to each state and celebrity cameos including rapper Lil Jon and director Spike Lee.
• “I’ve not seen this kind of energy since Obama,” Sanford Bishop, a Democratic congressman from Georgia, a historically Republican-leaning state that Biden won in 2020, told Bloomberg. “We’ve been in a funk and we’re out of it, and it’s just amazing,” he said in an interview.

(With inputs from Bloomberg and AP)