How Does it Feel?

“You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal”

--Bob Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone

Yeah, almost every minute of it in sleep shifts. Going to sleep at the start of the roll call of states that one night, and waking up hours later when the roll call was ending at the overnight repeat. Rapper Lil Jon sang-talked Georgia to a Dem victory with a piercing “Yeah!” to begin. This night at least. Turn down for what?, Little John, Robin Hood’s left hand man.

Convention roll calls are changed forever, another original surprise from all who created the best DNC convention ever. In American history. I identified with my homies from West Virginia, the oldest and youngest women in the delegation who cast all the votes for Kamala’s fight song: "When we fight we win." Mountaineer fighting spirit for justice and the political end of Trump, as they said. That carpetbagger song “Country Roads” actually sounded different to my ears this listen. Cause and effect, lol? 

You’ve followed all the details, so I’ll try to go beyond; all the great speeches—at least four personal bests, imo Biden, the Obamas, Harris. Walz was great too but too easy to label “personal best” since he’s done none like it before. “I’m not used to speaking like this,” he said, then spoke like this.

Biden as George Washington’s successor. “I like shouty Biden!” as Rick Perlstein wrote. Michelle speaking with her whole face, hands, body and self. “Do Something!” Barack recognizing citizens who won’t vote for Democrats and giving us a whole Democracy in America speech without dropping an intellectual. Harris: letter and tone perfect. Presidential.

How about the emotions, the feelings? How Does it Feel? Is repeated six times in that great Dylan song, so passionately directed at someone—Lady Liberty? A former President of the US who came in on his chrome horse –that escalator, back in 2016; with his diplomat – now laughably, lethally revealed as JD Vance; his Siamese cat – left after the insult, making another woman happy to vote against him.

The How Does It Feel? pivot for The Dems vibe: It feels good; it feels joyous. Joy in the Morning; Surprised by Joy, book titles in my brain driving me insane, if I can’t use them. Happiness and satisfaction — they got some; they gave much. Dems were not afraid to let crying rule —because empathy. Tears for Elizabeth Warren. Tears of Finally, Democrats.The impotent hypermasculinity of the Republican National Convention defeated by a tough woman who both dogs and children love. Coach Walz, embracing Harris and her vision like sorority sisters.
A real transvaluation of values, eh Freidrich?

They exuberantly went ‘high’– and wide (with tents so wide, more Republicans got to speak than ever.) They also went ‘low’ more civilly than Lil Jon's hit, Get Low, by continuing to kick the sick duo candidates (and the Party) in the shins, like the Shaolin monk kick or their finger-punching-tree attacks. Repubs can’t move. They can hardly breathe.

The Dems went so high, they created room to ‘flip,' with ju-jitsu-like gymnastics, many old Republican-owned themes: freedom, the most brilliant, maybe, and patriotism with a strong military–lethal–with the reasons for. More than two things can be true at once, Harris articulated again, stopgapping simple binary divisiveness in her vision of the Middle East and our foreign involvements anywhere. Even at home. We can defend democracy without having to fight with our troops for it.

Like a dying fall, here was the Republican convention in a feelingful nutshell: a barren humorless Seinfeld Festivus convention. The airing of grievances, all of them. Philosophers of language describe a useful notion: Speech Acts. I now think Speech Lies is also a useful descriptive phrase for the RNC convention. O yeah, and MASS DEPORTATION NOW!; their upbeatness marking their cruelty. That cruelty is finally, finally self-defeating.

How Does it Feel? at the RNC convention? Like torture; Trump’s speech was like being waterboarded. The convention, like death warmed over, as Grandma used to say.

Dear Former Guy, here's another Dylan lyric: Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes / You'd know what a drag it is to see you...

That’s All Folks, as Woody Woodpecker is always still saying somewhere.