On Tuesday night, CBS was the only broadcast network to offer analysis beyond a brief summation of Dr. Jill Biden’s address to the all-virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention. That said, they didn’t waste it, hailing her remarks as full of “empathy” and “trying to draw a contrast to the Trump family” with Americans “so hungry” for hope and resiliency.
CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell spoke first after Biden concluded (and Joe Biden came out to embrace her), recapping her speech in a Wilmington, Delaware classroom:
[S]he deliver[ed] a personal message of support for her husband, but also trying to tie in that his biography of resilience, loss, kindness is exactly what this country needs. At this time. I want to bring in our panel again and — and John Dickerson. This was a reflection of who Jill Biden really is, that teacher, that warmth, that personal sort of message to, that this is the nice guy, my husband, Joe Biden.
60 Minutes correspondent John Dickerson concurred and praised her speechwriters before opining: “Congressman Clyburn said last night, this is the personal reason she was offering for why he knows us, knows the American people because his loss is the avenue into regular people's lives and their own challenges.”
After remarking about how Dr. Biden has said she would love to continue teaching English if she became First Lady, Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan took note of Biden telling viewers this: “How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole.”
Brennan added that Jill “continued to hit on” this “empathy idea” that Michelle Obama (supposedly) honed in on Monday night with “the implication being Joe Biden has put the country first, even in moments of pain, trying to draw a contrast to the Trump family, even though you will see all the family members next week, even though you will constantly hear that message that they are united.”
Going lastly to Democratic strategist and CBS News contributor Jamala Simmons, O’Donnell hyped: “You know, it strikes me, Jamal, as Margaret is talking, that she essentially vouched for him as the healer-in-chief.”
Simmons replied that Biden spoke to how her family “know[s] how to get up and get moving again and that's the thing I think people are so hungry for in the country.”
“They know pain, they know suffering, and they know what to do the next day in how to get the country moving again,” he concluded.
Before signing off, O’Donnell offered one final take: “A character witness as well as the Democratic Party tries to make this not only a contest about leadership but a contest about character.”
Tuesday’s DNC coverage on CBS was brought to you by advertisers such as Amazon, Infiniti, and Lincoln Motor Company. Follow the links to the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from August 18, click “expand.”
CBS News: 2020 America Decides: Democratic Convention
August 18, 2020
11:05 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: And there you have Joe Biden and Jill Biden married 43 years together as she delivers a personal message of support for her husband, but also trying to tie in that his biography of resilience, loss, kindness is exactly what this country needs. At this time. I want to bring in our panel again and — and John Dickerson. This was a reflection of who Jill Biden really is, that teacher, that warmth, that personal sort of message to, that this is the nice guy, my husband, Joe Biden.
JOHN DICKERSON: Yes, and some good writing in there about the quiet is heavy of the empty classrooms. But you know, the last two days, they've been talking about Joe Biden knows us. Congressman Clyburn said last night, this is the personal reason she was offering for why he knows us, knows the American people because his loss is the avenue into regular people's lives and their own challenges.
O’DONNELL: Margaret, extraordinary to hear her say in that interview with Rita Braver that if she becomes the First Lady of the United States, she would still work or she wants to still work. That would be a historic first.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It absolutely would. Going into — can you imagine sitting in that classroom. “yes, ma’am.” [PANEL LAUGHS] But you know, one of the things in this speech, as we look at the text, I love that line, “How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole.” This empathy idea they continued to hit on, Michelle Obama last night, and Dr. Jill Biden tonight, it — the implication being Joe Biden has put the country first, even in moments of pain, trying to draw a contrast to the Trump family, even though you will see all the family members next week, even though you will constantly hear that message that they are united.
O’DONNELL: You know, it strikes me, Jamal, as Margaret is talking, that she essentially vouched for him as the healer-in-chief
JAMAL SIMMONS: That's absolutely right. You know, one of the things in campaigns you talk about all the time. Elections are not rewards for good behavior, right? People don't just vote for you because they like what you did in the past. Your past is a proof point about what you're going to do in the future going forward and this gets back to the question about the candidate who likes us the most, respects us the most, can fight for us the most. What she really did in the speech, and she talked about the fact that they know, the Bidens know how to get up and get moving again and that's the thing I think people are so hungry for in the country. That's what they're trying tapping into. They know pain, they know suffering, and they know what to do the next day in how to get the country moving again.
O’DONNELL: A character witness as well as the Democratic Party tries to make this not only a contest about leadership but a contest about character.
