Democratic National Convention

CNN’s coverage of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden accepting their nominations at the Democratic National Convention last night (read Ken Tucker’s review of their speeches) taught us 10 things:

1. Some cutaway shots are simply too brief.

“Gentlemen, it’s never been a good bet to bet against the American people.”

Biden exits… to a dance party.

2. The higher your office, the more reverent the hats shown during your speech.

Joe Biden:

Barack Obama:

John Kerry:

3. Sometimes you really want the camera to pan right.

4. If the veteran on Camera 1 sneezes, immediately cut to the veteran on Camera 2, even if you’ve shown him before.

5. Children will sit through hours of political speeches.

(As a daughter of a former Register of Wills, I have a memory of my mother asking everyone at our table at a political dinner to pass the cherries in their fruit salad down to me to keep me quiet.)

6. Sometimes, you’ll never know why people are laughing…

… but sometimes you will.

“I am the president.”

“You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.”

7. Eva Longoria wants to be known as a film star now.

“The Eva Longoria who worked at Wendy’s flipping burgers, she needed a tax break. But the Eva Longoria who works on movie sets does not.”

8. We are so ready for the return of Scandal.

9. If you get busted looking directly at the camera to see if it’s on you, there’s no way to recover gracefully.

10. In all seriousness, some standing ovations are warranted.

Bonus things learned from last night’s fairly forgettable Kal Penn-hosted webcast, Live From Charlotte (in addition to the fact that Michelle Obama prefers The Hunger Games to Harry Potter and Modern Family to Glee):

1. Biden has worn those aviators since he was 17.

2. Aisha Tyler wears glasses when she talks politics.

3. These are the faces of those people who send you all those Obama emails. From left to right, Rufus Gifford, Marlon Marshall, and Julianna Smoot.

Read more:

Democratic Convention review: President Obama’s speech, Joe Biden’s grammar, plus… Bruce Springsteen and Eva Longoria!

More Convention coverage