The Democratic National Convention is now half over, after a blowout second night that featured both Michelle and Barack Obama as the evening's headliners. This was after what is normally a pretty boring (and cheesy) process -- the rollcall of the state delegations -- turned into a joyful dance party, complete with a DJ spinning tunes appropriate to each state. All in all, a pretty outstanding night!

One technical note before I get started with a review of the speakers... the people running the whole show cracked down in impressive fashion last night and the entire thing only ran five minutes over the schedule. They reportedly were telling people backstage throughout the evening to pare down their remarks (when things started running a little long) and they brought things under control before they got out of hand (which things definitely had, on Monday night). So kudos to the behind-the-scenes directors of the whole party for getting it right.

Democrats, quite obviously, have a very deep bench of experience in their party -- both on-the-rise newcomers and politicians who have already done their bit for the nation and have essentially retired. We got a mix of this last night, ending with the current second gentleman as well as a former president and his first lady speaking. This is a huge contrast to the show the Republicans put on, since most of their "emeritus" politicians weren't invited to speak. No George W. Bush speech was heard, just to point out the obvious. What truly would have been amusing would have been hearing Dick Cheney speak, but obviously their show was put on for the benefit of their Dear Leader, not for the amusement of people like me.

In fact, while watching last night a friend asked me who was slated to speak tomorrow night and after I sent them a link to a list, they wondered: "Who is even going to be left to speak on Thursday?!?" That's how star-studded each night has been.

Another rather amazing thing about last night was the fact that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz decamped from the convention and headed a few miles north to give a speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- in the same arena where the Republicans recently held their own convention. This was obviously a ploy to get under Donald Trump's notoriously-thin skin, proving that the Democrats could not raise just one gigantic crowd in a single night, but in fact two of them. Harris and Walz spoke to a reported crowd of 15,000 people in Wisconsin, which (as always) is shaping up to be a very close battleground state.

But back to Chicago... what with the rollcall eating up an entire hour and the two Obamas speaking, there were far fewer speakers last night than we saw on Monday. This also must have helped to keep the schedule a lot more under control. We had a few people speak who were not exactly well-known, but only a handful of them (and they mostly did a good job, even the ones who weren't quite ready for primetime yet). One of them even gave a shoutout to the county I grew up in, which was kind of fun for me to hear.

Earlier in the day, the grandsons of both John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter spoke briefly, with Jack Schlossberg (J.F.K.'s only grandson) giving a rather poignant callback both to his grandfather and to Joe Biden speaking the night before: "Today, J.F.K.'s call for action is now ours to answer. Because once again, the torch has been passed to a new generation."

Also notable in the early speakers was Stephanie Grisham, who used to be Donald Trump's White House press secretary. She joined the chorus of other ex-Trump-staffers who have broken their silence and reported that Trump was exactly as bad as everyone thought (and perhaps even somewhat worse). Two of her remarks were notable, the first being:

[Donald Trump] has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth. He used to tell me, "It doesn't matter what you say, Stephanie. Say it enough, and people will believe you."

And the second was when she reported that Trump showed open disdain for his own followers, calling them: "basement dwellers." Both seemed entirely believable, knowing what we all know about Trump already.

I have to admit I didn't watch the entire hour of the rollcall (hey, I gotta eat sometime!), but in the parts I did see everyone seemed to be having all kinds of fun. The best highlight I missed: rapper Lil Jon delivering the delegate count for Georgia in his own unique style. Spike Lee was also spotted amongst the New York delegation.

The states' rollcall is alphabetical, except for three states. At the start, Alabama deferred to Delaware, so that Joe Biden's home state could be the one to put Kamala Harris's name into contention, which was a nice (and very polite) touch. At the end of the list were the two home states of the party's nominees -- Minnesota and California.

But right before they got there, almost at the end of the regular order of states, came Wisconsin. This was notable for two reasons, the first being that they all (with one notable exception) were wearing "cheesehead" hats. Because of course they were! The notable exception was the state's governor, Tony Evers... who completely flubbed his lines. He did OK when he was just name-checking the state's sports teams (to playful boos from other states), but when it came time for the big finish -- the part where he announces how many votes he's casting for Kamala Harris -- he just could not get her name out. He tried over and over again, and he just kept blowing it. He didn't mispronounce it, he just never got to it -- he had some buildup line that was supposed to precede her name and he stumbled over it multiple times. He had a few depreciatory and embarrassed interjections ("Oh, God!") and his delegation laughed and encouraged him to finish, which he finally (thankfully!) did, by just skipping over the line that was giving him so much trouble and going straight to her name. The moment will live on forever in his own personal "blooper reel," one assumes.

Minnesota cast their votes after being introduced by Hans Storvick, a former student of Tim Walz (which was also a very nice touch). He then handed things over to the state's two senators who actually cast the votes.

California was notable in the way we (yesterday) pointed out that A.O.C. was notable in 2020, since while Governor Gavin Newsom gave a little speech casting the ballots, this will be the only time Democrats will hear from him during the convention. Newsom, of course, had been semi-openly running a "shadow campaign" for president himself -- just, y'know, on the off chance the party suddenly needed a new nominee to pick up the torch. Others had also been considering the prospect, but none so blatantly as Newsom. One of the others got a prominent speaking slot last night (Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker), but Newsom was relegated to just doing his little "rah-rah, California" speech. Which was kind of interesting, in a "dog that didn't bark in the night" sort of way.

Right after the rollcall ended, we had a technological joining of the two rallies -- the party in Chicago with a video feed of the rally in Milwaukee (and vice-versa) -- with both crowds trying to outdo themselves in cheering on Kamala and Tim. This must have been tricky to set up, but they pulled it off without a hitch.

Then for some inexplicable reason Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer danced onto the stage. Or "fake-ran" onto the stage -- it was hard to tell exactly what he was doing, really. Schumer's not exactly the smoothest orator in the party, but he is one of the highest-ranking Democrats serving in Congress, so he got a speaking slot.

He was followed by Senator Bernie Sanders, in an obvious nod to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. I've been a big Bernie fan for a while now, so it was good to see him getting the respect his stature is truly due. He gave his usual sort of Bernie speech, urging the party to adopt progressive and even populist measures, and notably called for a cease fire in Gaza. Bernie also ran down the list of all the things he was able to get Joe Biden to agree to during his term in office, which was his due since Biden had never been very progressive until Bernie (and his supporters within the party) pushed him in that direction, both during the 2020 primaries and as president.

What was rather jarring, in an ideological sort of way, was the fact that right after Bernie did his usual thing denouncing the "billionaire class," we got two actual billionaires as the next speakers. Perhaps this was designed to calm Wall Street donors down? I have no idea, but I wasn't the only one who noticed the odd juxtaposition.

The first of these was Governor J. B. Pritzker of Illinois, who (as mentioned) is another Democratic governor who quite obviously harbors presidential aspirations. Pritzker gave a high-energy speech, taking the fight directly to Donald Trump with his: "Take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: STUPIDITY!" Pritzker seems a perfect fit for the "City of the Big Shoulders," and managed to perform a trick only people like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Donald Trump have managed -- present himself as a very rich guy who seems like he is in touch with the average Joe and Jane out there. If Pritzker ever does launch a bid for the presidency, he's going to be a formidable campaigner, that's for sure. His zingers were some of the best of the night: "Donald hasn't been in a grocery store since his first bankruptcy," and: "It's not 'woke' that limits economic growth, it's 'weird'."

At this point, however, the convention seemed to lose some energy for a while. We got another billionaire (to reassure fatcat donors?), and then New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was followed by the nominee in Maryland who will take on Larry Hogan for a Senate seat, Angela Alsobrooks. Things did liven up a little with the next speaker, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles, who delivered a few poignant lines encouraging other Republicans to jump ship:

As a lifelong Republican I feel a little out of place tonight, but I feel more at home here than in today's Republican Party.... I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle: John McCain's Republican Party is gone, and you don't owe a damn thing to what's left behind!

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth was next, and she ripped into Trump for his disrespect towards the military, mincing no words at all. She referred to Trump as a "five-time draft-dodging coward," and towards the end of the speech got even more snarky: "Send a message to old Cadet Bone Spurs: Stay out of our doctors' offices, and, while you're at it, out of the Oval Office as well." This was an awfully feisty speech, but then she's got every right to deliver it (having lost both her legs in combat).

This was the point where we settled into the meat of the evening. First we got a video presentation by Cole Emhoff, son of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, which was an awfully endearing introduction to his dad. His father then took the podium and gave an even-more-endearing speech. One thing worth noting is that giving such a loving and supportive speech would have been absolutely impossible for a woman like Melania Trump to deliver, which is perhaps why she didn't even bother trying during the Republican National Convention (she only showed up for the final night, in fact).

Doug Emhoff was a fresh face to most of the audience, both in the convention hall and watching at home. He gave off a very "Dad joke" vibe, as a sort of "everyman" loving husband. He told funny stories about how he first met Kamala Harris (on a blind date) and how his wife is the embodiment of a joyful warrior. The most endearing thing he said was that tomorrow night -- the night Harris will be delivering her speech accepting the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party -- will also be the couple's 10-year wedding anniversary. If Kamala wins, he will become the first "First Gentlemen" in American history, and it certainly looks like he'll be up to filling that role with both authenticity and style.

At around 10:40 P.M. Eastern, Michelle Obama took the stage to wild and sustained cheering. "Hello, Chicago!" she greeted the crowd with, as the ultimate "local girl done good." I have to admit, I have sorely missed seeing both Obamas, as they have largely kept their heads down throughout Joe Biden's term in office and during the whole campaign. I sincerely hope we'll be seeing more of both of them out on the campaign trail from now on, because nobody can fire up a crowd like these two.

Michelle's speech lasted a little over 20 minutes, but in that short stretch of time she absolutely tore the roof off the convention hall. She reprised the theme of her husband's campaign by proclaiming (to gleeful cheers): "America: Hope is makin' a comeback!" She played the crowd like a fiddle, bringing her cadence down to speak of the pain of losing her mother as well as some plain truths about people (like herself) who have never benefited from (as she put it) "the affirmative action of generational wealth."

Michelle then moved on to talk about Donald Trump and his lies about her family ("my husband and I sadly know a little about this") and got off a zinger about Trump having to realize that maybe being president was "one of those Black jobs" he had sneered at.

Michelle Obama walked a tightrope with her speech, and she did so magnificently. She had to take the fight to Trump (and by doing so, revisit her previous call of: "When they go low, we go high"), but without getting too angry and negative. She also had to boost up Kamala Harris, but without being too rosy-tinted-glasses positive. She warned everyone that there would be slings and arrows tossed at Kamala, who would doubtlessly make a few mistakes along the way -- and then she turned it into a challenge for Democrats not to collapse into some sort of fetal crouch when it happened, but instead to get over the "Goldilocks complex about getting everything just right," and keep fighting for Harris throughout it all.

By the end of her speech she had the crowd in the palm of her hand. She continued to challenge them and fire them up: "This is the time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right... don't just sit around and complain, DO SOMETHING!" She ended with a call to soldier on no matter what: "There is simply no time for that kind of foolishness -- you know what you need to do!" The crowd roared back with by chanting "Do something!" in an absolute frenzy of joy and resolve.

A little after 11:00 P.M. Eastern, Michelle's husband Barack walked onto the stage to give his speech. There was a prolonged chant of: "Yes we can!" from the already-fired-up crowd. When they finally quieted down enough to let him speak, Obama immediately revved them back up with: "Chicago! It's good to be home! I don't know about you, but I'm feelin' fired up!"

Obama then pointed out how tough his task was: "I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama," which was a nice touch (and got a big laugh from the crowd). Both Obamas have different speaking styles, and afterwards many Democrats pondered which speech was actually better. The consensus seemed to be that Michelle's speech was much more emotional and evocative, while Barack's was more intellectual and policy-driven, but that both speeches were so excellent and effective that it was impossible to call one better than the other. I have to say: I agree with this sentiment.

Barack began by giving lots of love to Joe Biden, the man he chose to be his own vice president. The crowd erupted in: "Thank you, Joe" chants several times, and Obama also echoed the "torch has been passed" sentiment.

Then he moved on to rip into Donald Trump. He did so with a bit so subtle the late-night hosts haven't even noticed it yet (I fully expect it to be highlighted later tonight, however, as they catch up). Obama started by pointing out that Trump "has not stopped whining about his problems" since he first rode down his golden escalator. Then he delivered the ultimate insult: "The childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes." But it's one of those things that you have to see to fully appreciate, because when Obama delivered the line about "weird obsession with crowd sizes," he subtly moved his hands back and forth a bit and very briefly glanced down at them, before he just moved on to other subjects. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. It is truly a masterfully-delivered playground insult for the ages. And no, I'm not going to explain that any further (go watch it, you'll see...).

Obama had plenty of other great lines throughout the evening as well. He (quite correctly) pointed out that Trump's act has "gotten pretty stale" and reminded everyone: "We've seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse."

He moved on to delivering words of support for the new Democratic ticket, giving Tim Walz high praise for his authenticity: "You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don't come from some consultant, they come from his closet! And they've been through some stuff... they've been through some stuff."

He did have one funny line about his own record (while speaking of how Harris and Walz can't just rest on their laurels but have to lay out their agenda for the future), pointing out (about Republicans): "I've noticed, by the way, that since it has become popular, they don't call it 'Obamacare' no more."

Barack Obama is an orator for the ages, and I am unashamed to say that I have sorely missed hearing him give political speeches. There is no one in the Democratic Party that is better at it than him, which he proved last night in only a half-hour speech (which, for him, is akin to merely clearing his throat -- he could have gone on for another hour and still held the audience's rapt attention). He acknowledged two shout-outs from the audience, the first when they booed something he said about Trump, which Obama responded to with his standard: "Don't boo -- VOTE!" The second came at a quiet moment in the speech when a woman yelled out: "Yes she can!" and Obama immediately agreed and echoed it back. The crowd, of course, immediately erupted with the chant in joy.

Obama got a bit serious at the end, and worked in a little nod to the 1968 Democratic National Convention by saying: "The rest of the world is watching, to see if we can actually pull this [election] off." But then he built to a rousing finish, getting the crowd on their feet and (just as his wife had done) absolutely tearing the roof off the place, ending with a call to action: "Let's get to work!"

By the end of it, I had to keep reminding myself that this was merely the second night -- and that we've got two more to go. Both nights so far have closed with a Democratic president's speech -- which won't happen tonight because Tim Walz will be the headliner. But if the excitement keeps building the way it did last night, it's going to be off the charts before the week is over.

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant