Humanization was the unofficial theme of speeches at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night. Illinois State University Politics and Government Professor Erik Rankin is in Philadelphia with ISU students for the convention this week. During GLT's Sound Ideas, Rankin said Hillary Clinton has often been accused of having a "non-feeling political presence", but speakers highlighted her as a mother and grandmother.
Rankin said President Bill Clinton's speech about his relationship with Hillary was great to bring up her early political career and how she has become stronger and more powerful over time. Rankin said it was interesting for his students to watch Bill speak about his wife due to the fact that many people look back at his infidelities.
"Whenever you are Bill Clinton and you are talking about your relationship to your wife, you are opening a bit of a Pandora's box. You could see in the crowd there were a few snickers. While that was still a good part of the speech, it did conjure images in the listener's mind of his infidelities," said Rankin.
Rankin said Bill was very effective in the latter part of his speech when he talked about how Hillary's campaign can stand up against Donald Trump's platform. He said Bill will be a strong advocate in areas where the Clinton campaign will need to make in-roads.
Rankin also spoke about the Mothers of the Movement and their impact on the DNC Tuesday Night. During the interview, ISU Student Dayna Schickedanz talked to GLT's Charlie Schlenker about being in the main hall for the roll call and being apart of the nomination process.
