Candis R. McLean
For the past election cycle, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been engaged in a rigorous battle for the Democratic nominee. The Democratic National Convention this week marks the coronation for Hillary Clinton as the party’s candidate for the presidency. Her road to the nomination has been marred with scandal and controversy, with the latest alarm being an email leak last week. The numerous emails painted the picture of various levels of the Democratic National Commitee throwing their weight behind Clinton and marginalizing the Sanders campaign.
Once the emails were released, many called for Senator Bernie Sanders to remove his support for Hillary Clinton and reignite his desire to run against the frontrunner. Senator Sanders maintained his support. Yet, when it came time for him to speak at the convention Monday night, he was met with a passionate and warm welcome. It took several minutes for the crowd to let Sanders speak and many more for him to endorse Clinton. With Ted Cruz stirring the pot at the RNC last week, maybe viewers watched, waiting to see if the Senator would make a last attempt to sway the voters. Here is how the interesting minutes played out:
First, there was a very welcoming and emphatic reception in which the crowd applauded for over 3 minutes straight. The applause included a standing ovation:
"Thank you!" Bernie Sanders gets an enthusiastic welcome from the #DemsInPhilly crowd https://t.co/KrxriQV8mj https://t.co/AVCyNA3sz1
— CNN (@CNN) July 26, 2016
Then Senator Bernie Sanders began to use phrases like this:
Sanders: "I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am" in results of nominating process. https://t.co/XcH1Gb9Brb
— ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2016
And this:
.@BernieSanders: I look forward to your votes during the roll call tomorrow https://t.co/H9n7JJUntx #DemsInPhilly https://t.co/DpJT94UaXV
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 26, 2016
Finally, several minutes later, the Democratic National Convention took a deep sigh of relief or bursts into tears:
Bernie Sanders: "Based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the U.S." https://t.co/TWifxqCIHa
— ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2016
The reactions from the media and the audience during this time were mixed with hope and alarm. However, Senator Sanders endorsement promptly closed the chapter on a potentially further problematic Democratic National Convention. Tuesday may be another story.