The Democratic National Convention set up its first night to feature speeches from the last Democrat to lose to Donald Trump and the last one to beat him.Hillary Clinton spoke about finally breaking the 맥스카지노�glass ceiling맥스카지노� to elect a female president. Joe Biden was the final speaker in Chicago on Monday night, even as protesters against the war in Gaza churned a few blocks from the convention hall.Here are some takeaways from the first night of the convention.Biden begins long political exitPresident Joe Biden wrapped up the convention맥스카지노�s opening night by beginning his long political farewell with an address that both framed his own legacy and signaled he was ready to start ceding control of the party to Vice President Kamala Harris.He took the stage to a long, raucous ovation from delegates hoisting 맥스카지노�We love Joe맥스카지노� placards and told them in turn, 맥스카지노�I love you!맥스카지노� After the affectionate opening, Biden spent long stretches of his 50-minute speech lacing into Trump, returning to a key theme of the reelection campaign he맥스카지노�s no longer running.Biden ticked through many of his administration맥스카지노�s achievements, including a major public works package and climate program, and shared the credit with Harris. But the convention ran so late that Biden took the stage after prime time had ended in much of the country. That didn맥스카지노�t stop Biden from declaring, 맥스카지노�America맥스카지노�s winning.맥스카지노�Biden called Harris a 맥스카지노�close friend맥스카지노� and said picking her as his running mate was the best decision he ever made. He also vowed to help get the new Democratic ticket elected, promising to be the 맥스카지노�best volunteer맥스카지노� that Harris and Walz have ever seen.He ended by telling those still listening, 맥스카지노�I gave my best to you for 50 years.맥스카지노�He had no plan to linger at the convention, though. Biden was set to fly to California's wine country for a vacation immediately after his speech.A surprise Harris appearance to pay tribute to BidenThe vice president made an unscheduled appearance onstage to pay tribute to Biden ahead of his own address to the convention. She told the president, 맥스카지노�Thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you맥스카지노�ll continue to do.맥스카지노�On a night meant to honor the president who stepped aside to make way for Harris, the vice president added, 맥스카지노�We are forever grateful to you.맥스카지노� Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were in the stands to cheer her message.Harris, in her brief remarks, said that looking out on the crowd, 맥스카지노�I see the beauty of our great nation,맥스카지노� stressing the importance of promoting diversity and embracing optimism.Hillary Clinton revives talk of breaking that 맥스카지노�glass ceiling맥스카지노�Clinton was greeted with wild and sustained applause that lasted for more than two minutes before she quieted the crowd. She delivered a fiery speech hoping that Harris could do what she could not 맥스카지노� become the first woman president by beating Trump.Clinton evoked her 2016 concession speech by referencing all the 맥스카지노�cracks in the glass ceiling맥스카지노� that she and her voters had achieved. And she painted a vision of Harris 맥스카지노�on the other side of that glass ceiling맥스카지노� taking the oath of office as president.She closed her speech with a striking desire for someone who맥스카지노�s stood at the pinnacle of American politics and power: 맥스카지노�I want my grandchildren and their grandchildren to know I was here at this moment. That we were here and that we were with Kamala Harris every step of the way.맥스카지노�Clinton dipped into traditional political attacks in her speech, including mocking Trump맥스카지노�s criminal record. That led to chants of 맥스카지노�lock him up맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� mirroring the ones that Trump맥스카지노�s supporters directed at Clinton in 2016.Tracing a line from Jesse Jackson to Kamala HarrisAn early theme of the evening was celebrating the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime civil rights leader in Chicago and former presidential candidate in 1984 and 1988. Many Democrats credit him with blazing a trail that helped Barack Obama win the White House in 2008 and Kamala Harris become the first woman of color nominated for the presidency.Jackson was saluted from the stage by several speakers, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and California Rep. Maxine Waters. There was a video montage of Jackson맥스카지노�s career and legacy that played before the 82-year-old Jackson himself came to the stage in a wheelchair, thrusting his arms skyward and grinning. Jackson has been diagnosed with Parkinson맥스카지노�s disease.During the 1984 Democratic convention in San Francisco, Jackson gave a speech declaring that America is 맥스카지노�like a quilt: Many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.맥스카지노� The address became known as the 맥스카지노�Rainbow Coalition맥스카지노� speech, and Jackson used momentum from it to seek the Democratic nomination again in 1988.Harris has called Jackson 맥스카지노�one of America맥스카지노�s greatest patriots.맥스카지노�Remember COVID? Democrats don맥스카지노�t want voters 맥스카지노� or Trump 맥스카지노� to forgetDemocrats opted to shine the convention spotlight on the harrowing subject of the coronavirus pandemic.It was a reflection of Democratic frustration at how Trump has portrayed his tenure in office as a golden age for the country, even though hundreds of thousands of Americans died of COVID-19 during the last year of his term.There are plenty of risks for Democrats in hammering the pandemic. Even more people died of the virus during Biden's presidency than during Trump's, voters have shown an eagerness to move on and some preventative measures championed by Democrats 맥스카지노� like school closures and masking 맥스카지노� are not popular in retrospect.Still, the lineup of early speakers focused on Trump맥스카지노�s performance during the pandemic. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan recalled how her brother was the second person in Tennessee to die of the disease and how she couldn맥스카지노�t visit him or hold a memorial service. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, a nurse, said of Trump: 맥스카지노�He took the COVID crisis and turned it into a catastrophe. We can never ever let him be our president again.맥스카지노�Rep. Robert Garcia, whose mother and stepfather died of the disease in 2020, recalled Trump맥스카지노�s missteps and concluded with one of the slogans of Harris맥스카지노� young campaign: 맥스카지노�We are not going back.맥스카지노�Democrats one-up Republicans on laborTrump맥스카지노�s convention last month featured a rare appearance from a union leader at such a GOP event: Teamsters President Sean O맥스카지노�Brien. That맥스카지노�s reflective of how Trump맥스카지노�s populism has cut into Democrats맥스카지노� advantage with union households.In that speech, O맥스카지노�Brien did not endorse Trump. But he criticized both major political parties for not doing enough to help working people.Democrats didn맥스카지노�t invite O맥스카지노�Brien to their convention, but they countered with a half-dozen other union leaders onstage Monday. And then Shawn Fain, head of the United Auto Workers, led a blistering chant of 맥스카지노�Trump맥스카지노�s a scab!맥스카지노� while wearing a red T-shirt emblazoned with those words.Fain noted that Biden visited a UAW picket line last year and, when autoworkers struck in 2019, Harris, not Trump, walked the picket lines. 맥스카지노�Donald Trump is all talk and Kamala Harris walks the walk,맥스카지노� Fain said.