Friday mailbag!

Let's do this thing.

The Democratic convention is over.

We are 74 days from the general election.

It’s all happening!

You had questions. I have answers. They’re below. If you are a free subscriber, you’ll be able to get a taste of what the mailbag is like. If you are a paid subscriber, you’ll get the WHOLE meal.

And don’t forget: I do a livestream EVERY Friday over at my YouTube channel. Today it starts at 1:30 pm eastern. I’ll go for about an hour — answering as many questions as I can. Check it out!

Q: Would you please rank your top speakers at the DNC?

A: Absolutely!

Rather than rank them though — it’s so hard to differentiate — let me just give you a bunch of people I thought were really good (with the caveat that I did not watch every single speech every night!):

The Obamas (duh)

Doug Emhoff

Tim Walz

Oprah

Jasmine Crockett

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

Wes Moore

Those are the ones off the top of my head. While we’re at it, I thought Bill Clinton was mediocre-to-bad. And was sort of disappointed with Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper too.

Q: Barack Obama is an exceptional orator, and his 2004 speech at the DNC catapulted him to 2008. Who at the DNC convention this year came closest to a 2004 moment that will launch a campaign in 2028 or 2032?

A: Comparing speakers to Barack Obama is TOUGH. I mean, he is a generational talent as a politician and a public speaker.

But if we are talking about potential national candidates who helped themselves, I would put Wes Moore at the top of that list. I thought he told his personal story, which is really compelling, in a powerful and poignant way. And he demonstrated a ton of charisma.

AOC was very good too. And I think will run for national office at some point in the future.

Q: What will be your one take away from the DNC?