PHILADELPHIA — Five things to watch for at the Democratic presidential convention:
1. Convention chaos
A trove of leaked emails stolen by hackers and released Friday by WikiLeaks has thrown the convention into chaos — just before its kickoff — forcing embattled Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down as Democratic national Committee chair. The turmoil inside the Wells Fargo Center promises to be a distraction from the message of party unity the Democrats hoped to deliver. Will Bernie Sanders loyalists take out their disillusionment at the convention?
2. The protesters outside
The city of Philadelphia has been planning for 200,000 protesters – and organizers of the protests have been hoping for a million to show up. Now they have even more reason to be furious with the Democratic party establishment. How much noise will they make – or will the protests fizzle, as they did at the Republican convention in Cleveland?
3. Clinton and Kaine
Hillary Clinton is notoriously unexciting — and her running mate, Tim Kaine, is a self-described bore. Will the Democratic ticket be able to spark any sort of enthusiasm as it pivots away from the primary struggles and into the general election?
4. The supporting cast
President Obama, Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Bernie Sanders — plus a host of other big wig Democrats — are all scheduled to speak. In 2012, it was Bill Clinton’s speech at the DNC that proved to be the break out moment, the speech that made the most convincing case for a second term for Obama.The supporting cast this time threatens to outshine the main characters.
5. Donald Trump
Yes, it’s the Democratic convention, but the Republican candidate is already planning to break with tradition by having a public event Monday night. Will Trump steal the show? And what other tricks might Trump have up his sleeve?
