It is What it Is

 I'm as much of a Michelle Obama admirer as anybody -- you might even call me a wannabe. Damn I wish I could've written that book, married that guy, had that soapbox. My reaction to her keynote speech last night? What she said. 

What we've all been saying, for four years, at least within the confines of what my daughter refers to as my "bublé." That he's unqualified. That he has soiled the office and our country. That we are better, but that this time around we need to work harder at it. 

I feel like a bit of an outsider, as unexcited as I was about Michelle's speech, as inspiring and true and articulate and from the heart as it was. I certainly hope that it maybe, got to a few folks outside my bublé, folks who hate him but might indeed settle into powerlessness and resignation. It is what it is. 

It was great shade, Michelle repeating his use of a once meaningless phrase that acquired a whole new heap of meaning when attached to over 160,000 deaths. But the point for us, going forward, is that it is what it never should have been, and it is going to be the opposite of what it is now. It had better be. 

Which was exactly my takeaway from night one of the Democratic Convention. I already know what Michelle Obama thinks, and that I -- and most people I associate with -- agree wholeheartedly. What I don't know is how many Republicans will come out and speak, and how loudly they will speak, and to whom. What I don't know is whether Bernie's steadfast followers heard -- or will heed -- his message, powerful and timely as it may be, this time around. What I don't know is whether, despite all our best efforts and intentions, corruption and cheating and in-your-face lawlessness will again win out. Whether we will settle for the promise to do no further harm from a postmaster general who knows he has to face Katie Porter next week. Whether  the Cowards (formerly known as Republicans in the Senate) will be able to convince people that the Intel Report finding Russian collusion with the Trump campaign actually found no collusion with the Trump campaign. Whether Bill Barr will abandon all pretense of ethics and deliver his teased October surprise. And whether the news media will continue to air uninterrupted lies, as if they are news. 

It is what it is, and it sucks. Bigly. The glossy production was all good, but the real work begins now.