78 days to go until our president ial election. First night of the Democratic National convention is history. This was a convention staying on brand for 2020 unlike any other weve seen as it is in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now, by the way and we try to keep an accounting of this every night going. It has affected over 5. 4 million americans, taken over 171,000 of our fellow citizens away from us. Donald trumps handling or mishandling of the virus was high on the democrats agenda as well as his response to issues of racial and social justice and the divisive politics that have taken root in our country. While we were peacefully protesting, donald trump was plotting. He sent troops in camouflage into our streets. He sent tear gas into the air and federal helicopters too. I knew if he did this to d. C. , he would do it to your city or your town. We will need a president who sees unifying people as a requirement of the job. Our current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent. It couldnt fight off the virus. In fact, it didnt even see it coming. Joe biden and Kamala Harris will lead by example. It will be science, not politics or ego that will drive their decisions. Im a lifelong republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. Many of us cant imagine four more years going down this path, and thats why im asking you to join with me in choosing a better way forward. This election is the most important in the modern history of this country. During this president s term, the unthinkable has become normal. He has tried to prevent people from voting, undermined the u. S. Postal service, deployed the military and federal agents against peaceful protesters, threatened to delay the election, and suggested that he will not leave office if he loses. Let me be as honest and clear as i possibly can. Donald trump is the wrong president for our country. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for joe biden like our lives depend on it. We are very happy to have with us for our leadoff discussion two young but grizzled veterans of the trade. David plouffe, former Obama Campaign manager, Senior Adviser to president obama. His latest is a citizens guide to beating donald trump. Also with us, robert gibbs, former Obama CampaignSenior Adviser and White House Press secretary under, you guessed it, president barack obama. Gentlemen, good evening to you both. Mr. Plouffe, the president said today, first of many times he will say it in the days before the election, the only way i lose, if the election is rigged. That is a pernicious message. That is some view of the stakes for your party. After four days of a pep rally and youre allowed that are over, is your party ready for the war that needs to be fought . Well, it is a war, brian, and i think its good the house is now coming back into session. Theres going to be hearings and votes and pressure. I was happy the speakers today, weve got to make the case on the economy, on handling the pandemic differently. But they took his assaults on our Democratic Institutions and our pree and fair elections, and i think Michelle Obama most powerfully. There was an urgency to her address. Michelle obama has given three spectacular Convention Speeches in a row. This, i think, was the strongest of the three because there was an urgency to it, an intimacy to it, and she gave clear direction to people that you have to act like your life depends on it, not just the countrys life but yours. So, yes, we have to be vigilant. The degree of difficulty is now higher, brian, because hes going to continue, and his allies throw barriers in the way. But i think this convention will help people be determined to do whatever they have to do, however hard it is, to make sure trumps out of office. So i thought it was a really good night. And, you know, tough job to do a virtual convention. Weve never seen one before, but pretty strong. I will just say this. Michelle obamas speech, Bernie Sanderss speech, the amtrak video, the video to Bruce Springsteens song the rising, for people who didnt want the convention tonight, and a lot of people didnt, thats going to be a lot of content bouncing around social media for the next few days. Mr. Gibbs, i was watching your conversation with Nicolle Wallace this afternoon, and it just plain knocked me out when you mentioned and of course it makes sense we have always been the nation sending election monitors. In my lifetime, it always seems like its been jimmy carter going to honduras, to nicaragua, jimmy carter going to haiti. But being our earnest, show the flag, we do things right, we believe in democracy, American Election monitor, who would have thunk our country may be in need of election monitors . Its amazingly disconcerting, and i think if youre not alarmed at whats happening with the Postal Service, you are not paying enough attention. David has done a lot to bring it to the forefront the last few days as well. Look, it is theres a lot at stake. I thought michelle was incredibly powerful. I think davids right. The last 30 minutes of this conventions first night was just really, really well done. And, you know, i thought michelles speech, the power of it seemed as if you had four or five people sitting around a table, and somebody was just getting something off their chest about what was missing in this country. The norms that were taken away. The things that we expect our government to do. That kind of stuff and she did it in just such a simple, plain way. Let me just say this. I wouldnt want to be barack obama or Barack Obamas speechwriters right now because theyre in danger of not being the best Convention Speaker in that household right now. David plouffe, i was tough on your Team Friday Night because last we knew, as last week came to an end, pelosi and schumer put out a joint statement decrying whats happening to the Postal Service. Congress left for a 26day break. Thats not going to cut it given the enemy youre up against. Now, cooler heads have prevailed, but to your point, rome is burning. That joint statement was put out while Blue Post Office boxes were being unscrewed and hauled away from the sidewalk. Its the democrats who so often in the last 3 1 2 years have been charliebrowned during an ethos closer to charlie manson. Thats why i ask you if they are ready for the handtohand combat that awaits. Well, you know, brian, the line between democracy and autocracy is a lot thinner than we ever imagined. Its being tested. And democrats in congress have a special responsibility here. Were seeing democratic attorney generals and governors also step to the foreground. They have to. They have to treat this as literally its the most important thing thats ever happened in their lives because trump is going to stay at it, and they have to the ferocity, the intensity. This isnt about statements or votes that dont go anywhere or mean nothing or outrage. You need to be doing press events every day, multiple times a day, doing events with people who arent getting their prescription drugs, veterans who are being harmed. You need to have subpoenas going out to white house staff and campaign staff. Were having hearings, i guess, next week. Id have them in prime time as a leadin to the republican convention. This is the most important thing going on right now, and democrats have to be all over it. Now, the Biden Campaign and other democratic campaigns are going to have their own responsibility to be all over this. We have to make sure everybody understands the best way to vote. Michelle obama was very strong on that tonight. Im sure well hear that from president obama and even joe biden. But democrats in congress have to treat this as even more seriously than the 18 campaign that they ran on preexisting conditions, as important as that is. The entire enterprise is on the line, and you are dealing with someone who knows no low. Theres no boundaries. As Bernie Sanders said, he has made the unthinkable routine. And so im glad you gave them grief on friday. But saying theyre coming back is not enough. They have to be smarter than trump, more insistent than trump, meaner than trump, and really drive this into the ground so make sure we can have a free and fair election. And, robert, youre the messaging expert, and heres the problem. This is a president who thrives on repetition where it eats away at reputation. And this is a president who will just keep at it. Sadly, americas big cities are supplying the president , who is trying to appeal to this silent majority as he puts it supplying the president with new ammunition after each hot summer weekend. So who do you see about that . Well, look, i think thats going to be a big lift the next three days of this convention, and that is putting some real meat on the bones and really instilling confidence in what joe biden would do as president. I think day one has defined trump pretty well. I dont think you have to do as much of that in the next three days. I think youve got to talk about what youre going to do on health care, how youre going to keep the cities in this country safe. How are you going to address the Racial Injustice that weve seen . I think its going to be really important that this convention now sets out making sure it adequately defines who joe biden is. I dont think were going to mention the convention bounce in a conventional way weve done it. Nothing about this election is conventional. I think the convention bounce, well see how many people feel more confident about joe biden coming out of this, not just necessarily the raw vote in all of this. I think thats a big lift in the next three days that this convention has to keep pushing at. Its not just about defining trump. Trumps fairly well defined. Its really about defining joe biden. Two very smart and able guys with vastly different wifi signal strength, David Plouffe and robert gibbs. Always a pleasure to have you on, gentlemen. Thank you both very much. Joining us now, one of the athome dnc speakers that we saw earlier tonight oh, are we going to oh, we are. Okay. Youre here. Youre with us. I thought we might have to go to a break. Kristin urquiza is here with us. Her father, mark anthony urquiza, who voted for president trump, in a story she told on Live Television tonight, died in june after contracting covid19. And in a blistering obituary after his death, she blamed the death on, quote, the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through a clear lack of leadership. Knowing i was going to talk to you tonight, kristin, in addition to saying im sorry for your loss, had your loss been as part of a military family, you would have what we like to call a gold star family in this country. It is so, so very different, and you werent looking to be an activist of course. Your fathers death forced you to act. What have you learned since you stepped into the public eye, since you told us all your dads story . There are people Walking Around this country who know your dads story, and that is thanks to you and you alone. [ inaudible ]. Kristin, we are fighting so many gremlins tonight. Please hold that oh, we have you now. I was going to take a break. Thats, i guess, why i thought we were going to take a break. Now, please start over. I want to hear your story. Absolutely. The thing that ive seen over the course of the last month is that while people may know my dads story now because of me speaking up, i have heard literally the story of thousands of people who have a story similar to mine, that a loved one was lost too early and that theyre angry and upset, and that they know these deaths were preventable. That breaks my heart, but it also keeps motivating me to continue to raise my voice to advocate for those who cant otherwise. The saddest part, of course, is that there are people watching you tonight who are living this. They may be the loved ones of a latestage patient who feel like theyve seen this same car accident that you witnessed, conditions no better than what you witnessed, living in a country where weve done scarcely little to improve. Youre absolutely right. And its been, you know, a little over a month since my father passed, and the thing that breaks my heart even further is that ive seen no action from the federal government to take this pandemic seriously. And the cost of that is, as youre saying, real human lives. My dad was a wonderful person who did not deserve to die alone in a hospital with just a nurse holding his hand. But that story is happening all across the United States and will continue to happen if the federal government and the Trump Administration continues to downplay the virus and instead of tackling the virus, is trying to do things like thwart the Postal Service for enabling us to vote safely. So im enraged. We are in a moment, in a crisis, and our government is not acting like it. As a son and as a dad myself, the part of hearing your testimonial that hit me the hardest was that with this disease especially, at every stage, its almost designed to take away the patients dignity. Its almost designed to prevent contact with everyone in your life that you love. Thats exactly right. My dad went into the hospital, and i didnt get to see him at all. I couldnt even talk to him on the phone because even before he went on a ventilator, the machinery that was keeping him alive was so loud, which were seeing a picture of right now, that i could barely hear his voice, and he was struggling to breathe. So we had to send Text Messages to one another over the course of his last couple of weeks of life. I had to say goodbye to my dad over a facetime message. It was akin to a living nightmare. Its something i wouldnt wish upon my worst enemy. How did this change the way perhaps you see doctors and nurses . Ive always thought that doctors and nurses were incredibly important people. I actually thought i was going to be a doctor at first when i went away to college. But i have seen doctors and nurses being put in an impossible position that they shouldnt be put in, and i part of why i speak out is because we should be fighting for them as well. I worry about the longterm Health Impacts that this pandemic and our response is going to have on them. Theyre working around the clock and making impossible decisions. That is part of this pandemic. Its another layer of this pandemic that we are not coming to terms with. Kristin, by talking to you, we try to honor your fathers life and legacy, and it is an absolute honor to be able to talk to you, having heard you tell your story and your dads story. Kristin urquiza, thank you very much for staying up with us and for having us in. We greatly appreciate it. Coming up for us, another campaign veteran is going to join us. James carville will give us his take on night one of this very unconventional convention. There he is. You doing okay . Yeah. This moving thing never gets any easier. Well, xfinity makes moving super easy. I can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. Wow, that is easy. Almost as easy as having those guys help you move. We are those guys. Thats you . The truck adds 10 pounds. In the arms. Okay. Transfer your Service Online in a few easy steps. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. Visit xfinity. Com moving today. Its totally not the same without you. We miss your lets do this look. The sound of your laugh cry screams. And how you make every day here the best day ever. We cant wait to get you back so weve added temp checks, face coverings, social distancing and extra sanitizing to get the good times going again. Were finally back, and cant wait until you are too. Buy now and get two days free at the parks. Restrictions apply. Our nation is in crisis, and in many ways, covid is just a metaphor. A virus attacks when the body is weak and when it cannot defend itself. Over these past few years, americas body politic has been weakened. The divisions have been growing deeper. Only a strong body can fight off the virus and americas divisions have weakened it. Donald trump didnt create the initial division. The division created trump. He only made it worse. Lets talk about what weve witnessed tonight, and back with us to do that tonight, the sometimes ragin but always entertaining cajun james carville. Hes a veteran democratic strategist who rose to National Fame with the clinton president ial campaign. Cohost of the 2020 politics war room podcast. So, james, i heard one person say that what we saw tonight were all the videos that we arrogant tv networks always cut away from on the Convention Floor to gab up in the booth. I also heard someone call it a fourday pbs fundraising effort. What did you obviously were in a pandemic, so you cant have crazy hats. You cant have people all yelling and screaming and playing happy days are here again because theyre not. What did you make of it . Well, first of all, look, they got a bag of lemons and somebody said make lemonade, all right . And i think they did a good job. The person that stood out that exceeded expectations is senator Bernie Sanders. And as people know, i was not a big supporter of senator sanders candidacy. I thought he was particularly good tonight. You know, he said, looked, he worked with progressives, moderates, conservatives. He made you know, many progressive statements, but they were generally all things that Vice President biden agreed with. He acknowledged they have some discrepancy on their health care positions. I mean people were great. Mrs. Obama was terrific, but you sort of knew that going in. I really think Bernie Sanders really distinguished himself