Hundreds of educators, school administrators, and students came together at the RI Convention Center today for the fifth annual “Innovation Powered by Technology” conference, sponsored by the RI Dept. of Education. Across dozens of small discussions, panels, and demos, participants from all across the state had the chance to share best practices, learn about innovations, and build community. A detailed program is available and the day’s events were captured in a rich Twitter stream.

Two of the highlights were back-to-back talks just after lunch, featuring Gov. Gina Raimondo on her perspective on technology in the state’s education system, and a high-energy presentation on personalized learning by Rhode Island’s chief innovation officer, Richard Culatta.

Gov. Raimondo began by expressing thanks for Rhode Island’s cadre of outstanding educators, “People like yourselves who are always willing to learn more, do more, be on the cutting edge for our kids. And technology is core to that. Technology gives us a direct connection to how our students think, act, work, and communicate. The smarter we can be about technology, the better we’ll be able to teach and deliver education.”

She acknowledged the challenges that our education system faces. “The thing that most keeps me up at night,” Raimondo said, “is making sure that every Rhode Islander has the skills and education they need in order to get a good job in this economy. This economy is, in many ways, scary. It has more risk than it ever had, it’s more dynamic than its ever been, and requires a higher degree of skill and education than ever in order to be successful. 70-plus percent of all good jobs in Rhode Island require some degree past high school, but only about 40 percent of Rhode Islanders have that. So every child that’s in our K-12 system right now, it’s on us to make sure that they get the skills that they need in order to be successful.”

“That is the thing that I think will turn Rhode Island’s economy around,” Raimondo continued. “Businesses are going to want to be here if we have a skilled talent base.”

The Governor talked about some of the successes of the past two years.

“We are rolling out the CS4RI program. People are raising their hands, schools, teachers, principals, students, at a faster rate than we expected, we’re ahead of all of our goals. And I’m proud that Microsoft chose Rhode Island — we’re the only state where they’re doing a statewide rollout.”

“We also have rolled out the Advanced Coursework Network and PrepareRI to make sure that every high school student in a public school can take college-level courses for college credit for free. In some ways, this isn’t a new program, but instead of $200 a class, it’s free. That’s what it’s all about: taking away what might seem like a small barrier and having a massive impact. if you can get a semester of college under your belt for free in high school, that can change your life.”

“We’re working as hard as we can to get P*Tech off the ground, thank you to Westerly and Rogers, and we’re talking about it with Woonsocket High School and PCTA. I was down in Westerly two weeks ago, and it is so exciting talking to these young people. I said, ‘Why did you sign up for P*Tech?’ and they all had an answer. I was so impressed. Ninth graders telling me, ‘Because I think it will give me an opportunity.’ They know all about it, and they were psyched to be in the program.”

A reporter from RI Future had the chance to follow up with Raimondo to ask just how significant these kinds of expanding digital efforts are in attracting companies like PayPal to the state.

“Very important,” Raimondo said. “The primary reason to do it is because these kids deserve a chance to be successful, and a good education is what is necessary. But it’s very important. I have many conversations with companies looking at coming to Rhode Island, and they ask me, ‘What are you doing, Governor, to make sure that ten or 15 years from now, we have a skilled pipeline of people that have computer skills?’ They don’t want to just know about RIC, CCRI, URI, and today’s graduates, they want to know, if we come to Rhode Island, if we are going to be there for twenty years, are you building a pipeline.”

Richard Culatta was hired in the new role of Chief Innovation Officer in January, after working in the US Department of Education office of Educational Technology, and he has clearly hit the ground running on the issue of personalized learning, which he discussed in a rapid-fire talk.

“Nobody says we shouldn’t adapt learning to the students,” said Culatta. “But the challenge is, how do we do that? What tools are necessary? What do we need?”

“As a teacher, I knew I was teaching to the middle and that the schedule was trumping my kids. Imagine for a second, if we said every student in our system, every student in Rhode Island, will have 100% mastery; what will be flexible is the time and the approach used to get there.”

“Do you need technology to personalize learning? No. Unless you want to do it at scale.”

“If you have a classroom with 3 or 4 or 5 students, well, at that point, you can do a heck of a lot of personalizing, tailor very much to their needs without any technology. But when you have a high school with 5 classes a day with 30 kids in each of the classes, the ability to tailor the learning would just be crushing. Imagine having 50 IEPs that you’re planning every day.”

“How can we get that granular level of tailoring for each student and not have it be too burdensome? What that looks like, we have to figure out. I don’t care if we’re delivering instruction on technology or not, that’s a separate conversation, but we need to figure out some tools that can help teachers manage personalized learning so that we can do this at scale.”

Culatta closed with a provocative thought about a new “digital divide” not about access, but about the difference between using digital tools in passive versus active modes.

“What I’d like us to all be thinking about is a new digital divide: a digital use divide. How can we be using technology not to digitize traditional practices, not to have a digital version of what used to be on the chalkboard. How do we use technology to engage and empower and connect, and allow our students to be designers and builders, and allow them to work on what they want, when they want — that’s relevant, and aligned to quality standards that are common and accepted across the board.”

“A rigorous curriculum that is still tailored to individual needs and not be soul-crushing for teachers to have to come up with 75 individual lesson plans every day. That’s what we’re trying to do. That’s pretty audacious. But I think Rhode Island is the place that can pull it off faster and better than anybody else, and if we do, it will transform not just Rhode Island, but the world.”

A full roster of elected officials and almost 200 people packed the Rhode Island Democratic headquarters in Warwick Saturday morning to kick off a statewide effort to support presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The storefront office was standing room only as the governor and our congressional delegation energized attendees with their perspectives on the race and the importance of a Clinton win.

The rally, which began at 10:30, lasted about half an hour, after which many of the attendees pulled out cell phones and laptops and began to make calls for Clinton. Governor Gina Raimondo started off the event by talking about the critical nature of November’s choice.

“There’s more at stake in this election than any I can remember in my lifetime, because the consequences of Trump presidency are so terrible that it’s hard to even fathom,” said Raimondo.

She went on to talk about what she says when asked by voters why she supports Hillary, stressing Clinton’s values and experience. “Hillary’s values are what I believe are the right ones: making college affordable, investing in K-12 education and universal preschool, raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure and building an economy from the middle out, not from the top down. And she’s the most experienced person ever to run for the US Presidency.”

Sen Jack Reed picked up on the theme of experience. “She is the best prepared individual to lead this country that I have seen in my lifetime. On the other side, we have an individual that lacks the emotional, experiential abilities to be President. That is obvious for all to see.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse drew on American and Rhode Island history to make his case for Clinton. “People say that we have a divided country. Well, we do. But in our history, we had a country so divided that we were fighting a civil war. And in that civil war, we could not have been more divided. What did the President then do? He called us to the ‘better angels of our nature.’ Donald Trump stirs the darkest demons of our nature.”

Whitehouse continued, “Bigotry is deplorable. Period. And that’s a Rhode Island lesson that goes back to when George Washington, when he was campaigning for President, wrote to a Rhode Island synagogue guaranteeing that it would always be the policy of the United States to give ‘to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.’” Said Whitehouse, “Tell that to Donald Trump.”

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-2) echoed Whitehouse, saying that Trump draws on some of his followers’ worst impulses. “I hope that when we go to the polls in November that we speak loud and clear as a nation that we reject that kind of politics.”

“This election,” said Rep. David Cicciline (D-1), “is a referendum on the founding principles of this country. We’re a country that was founded on the ideas that everyone should be treated with dignity, free from discrimination, that everyone should have an opportunity to get ahead, have access to quality education, make decisions about their own healthcare, and in so many ways, this is a referendum on those ideas.” He added a pointed personal observation: “Jim and I know first-hand serving in the House what the country would look like if Donald Trump and the Republican Party have their way.”

Democratic Party Chair Joe McNamara (RI D-19) closed the rally by asking the room to finish a few sentences by reading off cards that were handed out to attendees at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. McNamara led the group in a series of powerful and emotional call-and-response prompts. “We know that we are stronger together,” said McNamara. “Under a Clinton administration, all families will…” The whole room shouted, “Rise Together.”

“And we know that bigotry will never prevail,” said McNamara, “because…” “Love trumps hate.”

“And with a President Clinton, we know that we will have…” “A future to believe in.”

As the attendees broke to make calls, a reporter for RI Future asked Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse specifically about the importance a Clinton win for efforts to combat climate change and protect Rhode Island’s shoreline.

Whitehouse cited two reasons that make a Democratic win essential. “First of all,” said Whitehouse, “Trump has gone down the sort of lunatic path of pretending that climate change is a hoax, and that all the scientists and every American scientific society, all the scientists at NASA and NOAA, the scientists at every American national lab, are all wrong or are in on some evil conspiracy. Which is almost creepy as a point of view, it’s so wrong.”

“And then, second, he’ll be representing a party that basically has become the political wing of the fossil fuel industry. So, for both of those reasons, it makes it far less likely that anything will get done if he’s the President. Now, Nature does not forgive, and sooner or later, it will become clear to everybody that we’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake. We just don’t want that realization to come too late.”

An RI Future reporter caught up with Rep. Cicilline to ask about the reticence of some to throw their support behind Clinton, and what he would say to local progressives who are still on the fence.

“Anyone who examines these two candidates carefully, who shares progressive values, frankly, the values of our Party, will see it’s very clear that there is only one candidate who both has a record of getting things done in this area, and also a set of policies that will really advance our country and move forward on many important progressive priorities. Ultimately, elections are about choices, and while I know there was a lot of enthusiasm for Sen. Sanders — and I’m a huge fan of his, he raised some incredibly important issues in the campaign — I think he would be the first to say that the campaign was not about him as a person, it was about a set of issues and a commitment to move forward on those issues.”

Cicilline continued that a Trump win, “Would set back our movement and our country significantly, and this is going to be a close election. We can’t take anything for granted. We need to work hard to vindicate the progressive values we care about by electing Sec. Clinton.”

It was an odd phrase to hear in a nomination acceptance speech, so odd that it immediately made me wonder why it was there — and with a speech as fine-tuned and brushed down as Hillary Clinton’s last night, one can be assured there are no accidents.

It was near the beginning of the speech, in a section nominally connecting the present to the Philadelphia of the American Revolution, which in most such addresses would be a pleasant historical callback, but here becomes freighted, almost overdetermined:

“When representatives from 13 unruly colonies met just down the road from here, some wanted to stick with the king. And some wanted to stick it to the king. The revolution hung in the balance. Then somehow, they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose.”

The “stick with/stick to” phrase jumped out at me. It’s so pungent, so colloquial. And, I began to sense as her speech progressed, so central to her dual rhetorical mission: to disarm the attacks focusing on the “cartoon” Clinton as dynastic one-per-center and at the same time redirecting that populist ire at the true shill for the oligarchy (whether American or Russian remains to be seen) Donald Trump.

There were a number in the Wells Fargo Center last night who still wanted to stick it to Hillary. About 200 die-hard Bernie fans (coming from science fiction fandom, it’s easy for me to understand the depth of their loss; I still mourn the cancellation of Firefly) wearing their high-visibility yellow “Enough is Enough” t-shirts and occasionally trying to interrupt speeches. Nor were they alone. I spoke this week with less visible but equally disappointed folks who deeply disagree with Clinton as a matter of principle on a range of issues: foreign policy, trade, education, militarism.

For this audience, Clinton’s challenge was to position incrementalism as progressive, as she did when she explicitly reached out to Sanders, his delegates, and his fans:

“To all of your supporters here and around the country: I want you to know, I’ve heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That is the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America.”

That’s the first half of the speech’s mission: to inoculate against the meme of a Clinton “coronation” by leveraging the most powerful positional advantage against Trump: I versus we.  Kings, by definition, rule alone, by unassailable right. By divine right in some cases, or in our version of divinity, by virtue of their visible status as one of the Elect in surreptitiously Calvinist America. When Clinton (mildly mis-)quoted Hamilton en passant late in the third act of her speech, “We may not live to see the glory/let us gladly join the fight” she knew that HamFans would automatically supply the next line: “And when our children tell our story/they’ll tell the story of tonight.”

And that story is about a scrappy group working together to turn the world upside down. In Lin Manuel-Miranda’s incisive retelling, we see Alexander Hamilton — who in the rear-view mirror of history is an engraved profile on a bank note, the picture of a Founding Father one-per-center — as an outsider determined to rise above his station, deeply committed to serving the cause of his young country. It is no accident that the video history of Clinton’s life lingered so long on her family’s early challenges. Kings do not come from families where a parent is all but abandoned; witness the prominence of the story of her mother having to walk alone to the cafe on the corner for food. That’s not the parent of a king. That’s a “founding father without a father” riff, an origin story for a hero.

So who, then, is King George? Ah, yes, of course. Clinton supplies the answer with a “stick it to” clause, explicitly connecting the actions of the colonists at Independende Hall to the actions of the delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention:

“Then somehow, they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose. And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation. That’s what made it possible to stand up to a king.”

Listening (a major theme in all the “why I support” speeches and videos: Clinton listened and took action), compromising (as the Clinton camp did on platform and superdelegates and Sanders himself did on the nomination), and common purpose. Articulating that common purpose (turning our platform into change) will occupy the rest of speech, but first, Clinton drives the point home, cinching the present moment tightly to the Continental Congress and the true meaning of the Gadsden Flag, that coiled snake of unity ready to strike at all enemies foreign and domestic:

“Our Founders embraced the enduring truth that we are stronger together. Now, America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we all will work together so we can all rise together. Our country’s motto is “e pluribus unum:” out of many, we are one.”

And then she focuses all the weight of all the history she has brought to bear on the core question the country faces:

“Will we stay true to that motto?”

If we have taken on board the framing Clinton proposed, we of course can have only one answer to that question. Like the colonists sweating out an awful Philadelphia summer (an unplanned historical parallel) we know we must hang together to fight the king, the real king in this drama: Donald Trump.

After laying out a broad policy agenda in the first half of the speech, she turns to an exploration of King Donald and his failings (echoing the Declaration of Independence’s list of indictments — “He has refused, he has forbidden, he has constrained,” etc.): “He offered zero solutions,” “He doesn’t like talking about his plans,” “He just stiffed them,” “He also talks a big game about putting America First,” “He loses his cool at the slightest provocation.” And then the one that ties it all together: “He’s offering empty promises.”

Clinton returns to her central metaphor, pointedly, as she begins her close:

“Let our legacy be about ‘planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.’ That’s why we’re here…not just in this hall, but on this Earth. The Founders showed us that. And so have many others since. They were drawn together by love of country, and the selfless passion to build something better for all who follow. That is the story of America. And we begin a new chapter tonight.”

Yep. Rhetoric for the win. For those in the hall last night, the experience was electric, and the applause and whooping and banner waving was entirely spontaneous. It was a meticulously constructed speech, delivered with wit, grit, and passion, and my sense in the room was that many will have found it persuasive. When our children tell the story of how that garden came to be, my guess is that they’ll be telling the story of tonight.

On a night that began with vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine being nominated by acclamation, Democrats – and one high-profile Independent – squared off against Trump and built a solid affirmative case for a Hillary Clinton presidency.

Aiming squarely at the image that Trump projected in his convention last week, Obama offered a scathing dissection.

“The reason he’ll lose it is because he’s selling the American people short,” he said. “We are not a fragile people, we’re not a frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don’t look to be ruled.”

Obama spent a major part of his speech sharing his first-hand experience of Clinton’s strengths.

“For four years,” Obama said,  “I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline. I came to realize that her unbelievable work ethic wasn’t for praise, it wasn’t for attention, that she was in this for everyone who needs a champion.”

In a moment that was both self-effacing and a play to his popularity with the Democratic base, Obama offered himself as a point of comparison. “I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill, nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.”

When his speech wrapped up, Hillary came out to join him on stage for a brief hug and wave. The Wells Fargo Arena, which was packed to the rafters, exploded in prolonged applause and cheers.

Members of the Rhode Island delegation were still smiling about it this morning. “It was a terrific night,” said Rhode Island Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed. “The speech that President Obama gave was phenomenal, and I can’t wait for this evening when we see the first woman officially accept the nomination to the Presidency of the United States.”

“It was exciting to meet vice-president (candidate) Kaine for the first time,” said RI Rep. Deb Ruggiero. “I love his social justice agenda. I think what President Obama did was galvanize everyone, whether you’re a Democrat or you’re an unaffiliated to realize that we need to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President. We cannot have someone like Donald Trump. As Mike Bloomberg said, ‘Hillary Clinton understands this is not reality television, this is reality.”

Kaine gave a solid, largely introductory speech that saw him slipping into a Donald Trump impersonation, asking the audience if they accepted all the promises the Republican made when he said, “Believe me.” “I’m going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Believe me.” “There’s nothing suspicious in my tax returns. Believe me.” “Does anybody here believe him?” The attendees in the Wells Fargo Center thundered, “No!”

A high point of the evening, for many, was Vice President Joe Biden’s speech. In a fiery address that played to his middle-class sensibilities, Biden offered a blunt critique of Trump’s so-called populism.

Said Biden, “His cynicism and undoubtedly his lack of empathy and compassion can be summed up in that phrase he is most proud of making famous: “You’re fired.” I’m not joking. Think about that. Think about that. Think about everything you learned as a child. No matter where you were raised, how can there be pleasure in saying, “You’re fired.” He is trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That is a bunch of malarkey.”

There were more pointed critiques. Former candidate Martin O’Malley chided the Republicans: “Anger never fed a hungry child.” Retired Rear Admiral John Hutson got in the first dig over Trump’s call for Russian hackers to try to uncover additional Clinton e-mails. “That’s not law and order, that’s criminal intent.”

Independent Mike Bloomberg, who made it clear that he was not there to endorse the Democratic platform, nonetheless endorsed Hillary and, in no uncertain terms, drew a sharp distinction between his own status and that of the Republican nominee. “I’ve built a business and I didn’t start it with a million-dollar check from my father.”

Two former Presidential candidates visited the RI delegation at breakfast this morning as the group was still reflecting on the historic nomination of Hillary Clinton. Before Sen. Bernie Sanders stopped by, Gov. Martin O’Malley paid a visit and offered his thoughts on the convention and the need for unity going forward.

“Watching every night of our convention unfold, people have seen a real party, a diverse party, with competing interests, competing ideas, but at the end of the day, people that are very united in our belief that our diversity is our greatest strength,” O’Malley said.

Speaking about the general election, O’Malley said, “Of course we’re concerned. The specter on the other side is a real menace to the country. But the answer to defeating Donald Trump is not to vibrate at his frequency but to vibrate at a higher frequency. I think Dr. King said it well when he said that you can’t drive out hate with hate or violence with violence, only light and love can do that. So let’s make sure we come together in this next 48 hours so that we leave this city of brotherly — and sisterly — love resonating at that level and offering a better vision forward for our country.”

And O’Malley had some words for the Sanders supporters. “To any of you that were involved with Sen. Sanders campaign, congratulations on being able to bring to our party for the fall the most progressive Democratic platform we’ve ever had. It would not have happened were it not for that primary contest, and y’all should be proud too.”

The delegation was still abuzz over the historic nomination of Hillary Clinton as the first woman to lead a major party ticket.

House Speaker Nick Mattielo Mattiello said it was “an honor” to have been part of the nominating process. “I think it will be great for the country to have our first female President. I think she’s very qualified, I think she has a unique perspective, and I think she’s just going to be a great president at the right time. I’m very excited about the process, and I was very appreciative of being able to play a small role in it.”

RI Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed shared that sentiment. “It was great to be a part of last night — and the night before. Michelle Obama’s speech was absolutely what the party needed in terms of unifying the party, bringing the party together. As a woman elected official, I certainly share the excitement that was in that room last night and the possibility of the first woman President.”

Rep. Grace Diaz said that it was a “privilege” to have been part of the process. “History comes to your mind, and you say, ‘I can’t believe it, I’m experiencing this! I’m living this!’ It put tears in my eyes. I’m the first Dominican-American in the history of the United States elected to the state level, and I know the feeling inside — a big responsibility, because you cannot fail. You cannot have the luxury of not accomplishing what you’re supposed to. I think that’s what must be in Hillary’s mind now.”

Said Jamestown Rep. Deborah Ruggiero “It was electrifying. It’s every little girl’s dream. And when they showed every single President, beginning with George Washington and stopping with Obama, and the glass ceiling shattered and there was her face — it was, ‘wow!’ It’s real. And all the little girls sitting around her saying, I may be just the first one, but one of you will be the next one. It was just a great message for women, for boys, for men, for everyone. It’s just where our country needs to go. America is great. We’ve got to keep it great. We’ve got to keep it moving and Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are going to do that for working people.”

Being part of the delegation, Ruggiero said, was “pretty cool.” She added, “It’s really neat to stand up there and to know that you’re framing part of history. To know that your values are such that you want to see a person who believes in what’s right for working people, making sure that we raise the minimum wage, that we have healthcare for everyone, that we support education, all of those values are Democratic values. And to be able to be there to nominate not only the right candidate, but the smartest candidate, the hardest-working candidate, with the most heart, who just happens to be a woman.”

Former representative and gubernatorial candidate Myrth York agreed with the sense of history the delegation had just witnessed. “It was incredibly exciting. And I know the historic significance of it, and the work is still to be done, it’s one step forward, but even just on a personal level, for her, and having just a tiny sense of what she’s done and committed to to make this happen is extraordinary. The glass cracking? It was hokey, but it was fabulous. I didn’t see it coming, I just thought there would be her photo next. That was a brilliant piece of stagecraft.”

At the roll call vote in Philadelphia this evening, the Democratic National Convention formally nominated Hillary Rodham Clinton as their candidate for president. The votes of Rhode Island’s 32 delegates were announced by Speaker of the House Nick Mattielo, who, in the tradition of nominating speeches, took the opportunity to sing the praises of the state.

“Rhode Island is the proud home of the great Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen David Cicilline and James Langevin,” said Mattielo. “Home of outstanding beaches and coastlines, some of the best in the world. Great companies such as CVS, Textron, Hasbro, and now GE. A state that has recently proudly elected the first female governor, Gina Raimondo. The smallest state in the union with one of the biggest hearts. Home of the best restaurants in the country, great quality of life, great people. Rhode Island proudly casts 13 votes for Senator Bernie Sanders, and 19 votes for the next President of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

When the roll call vote concluded, attendees in the Wells Fargo Center went into a prolonged celebration, cheering and waving Hillary placards.

“It was so exciting to be in this convention hall,” Langevin said, “When it became official that Hillary Clinton is the first woman to be the Democratic nominee, of any major party, for President of the United States. I’m glad it’s under the Democratic banner. I’m so proud to be a long-time supporter of Hillary Clinton, and I look forward to working so hard for her throughout the election cycle.”

Democratic Party Chair Joe McNamara echoed those sentiments.

“It was great to see the delegation come together and a tremendous experience,” he said. “I’m very proud of every single member of our delegation. The speaker did a great job promoting the positive attributes of Rhode Island versus the negative speech that happened last week in Cleveland, Ohio. He got the coastline, he got our corporations, he got GE moving in — it’s all about jobs and the economy and quality of life, and I think it came across very well.”

Members of the Rhode Island delegation were still buzzing about the first-night speakers at the Democratic National Convention as they met for breakfast in Philadelphia.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said he was particularly moved by the reaction of Bernie Sanders supporters during his speech.

“Seeing the Bernie people, the young people, in the close-ups on TV weeping as he spoke, was a reminder to all of us how deeply some people put their hearts into that movement,” he said. “For those of us who have lost primaries, either as a candidate or because our candidate didn’t win, it was a reminder that there is a real sorrow and a real adjustment that’s required.”

Whitehouse was impressed by the way Sanders worked to bridge the gap between his supporters and Hillary Clinton. “I honestly don’t know that he could have done that job any better. Clearly he really wanted to try to make sure that took place. He really put his heart into it, and I think he will continue to. Nobody – Bernie voter, Hillary voter – wants to live in a Trump presidency America. Nobody.”

For Congressman David Cicilline, Michelle Obama was a highlight.

“The speech of the First Lady was the most powerful speech of the night,” he said. “She reminded us all of the progress we’ve made — ‘I wake up every morning in a house built by slaves, and I watch my children play on the front lawn’ — it reminded you that this is a great country and we’ve come a very long way, but she also recognized that we have many challenges, that many people are struggling in this country, and that we need a president who understands that struggle, who has real solutions, and that can bring us together. We have only solved problems in this country when we have come together, worked together to overcome them. The tenor of last night’s speeches was such a contrast to the Republicans. They were speeches filled with pragmatism but with tremendous hope and optimism about what is great about this country and our ability to build upon the progress we’ve made.”

Clinton delegate and former candidate for governor Clay Pell agreed that Michelle Obama stole the show.

“The highlight for me was Michelle Obama,” he said. “She was incredible. The whole place lit up. She was an inspiration. The First Lady’s message was about what her own family had been through, and the power of believing in this country. She had a very powerful story about how she lives in a house that was built by slaves, and is now watching two young, smart black girls play on the White House lawn and grow up and believe that because of Hillary Clinton that they too could become president of the United States.”

Pell had kind words for Sanders and his supporters.

“Sanders gave a great, impassioned plea,” he said. “Not only to his own supporters, but to the country, and shared a lot of the values we all way to keep moving forward. I hope he continues to be a leader in the Democratic Party, because he is a person not only of integrity but of vision, and he’s independent in so many ways, and we need that. He’s brought young people, and people of all kinds into politics, and it’s important that we embrace that and recognize that what he’s talking about is the future.”

Sanders delegate Linda Ujifusa wanted to keep the focus on the senator from Vermont.

“I think people should focus on the fact that we were all cheering Bernie,” she said. “I was really impressed with his speech. Of course, as he pointed out, we are disappointed. But his message, of trying to keep the political revolution that he began going is really, really important. I personally decided to run for office based on Bernie’s call to action, because for people to sit on the sidelines is to admit that we’re not willing to be involved.”

Still, some Sanders supporters were unhappy with the message. “I felt betrayed,” said Sanders delegate Laura Perez. “At the beginning of his speech, he even suggested, still vote for me. And then at the end of the speech, okay, you’re all in. This is what we’re going to do.”

Sanders delegate and organizer Lauren Niedel shared in the disappointment.

“Bernie’s speech was inspirational and showed why he should be our next nominee,” she said. “I’m not at all surprised by the message of Bernie’s speech. He stated from the beginning that was his intention. What I’m disappointed in is that if all was fair, if his message could have been seen and heard by more people, and if independents and unaffiliated had their say in each of the primaries, Bernie would be our nominee.”

RI Democratic Party Chairman Joe McNamara praised New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.

“Michelle Obama was great, and I believe we saw a rising star in Cory Booker,” he said. “Booker really took it to the mountaintop with ‘we will rise together.’ That will be a speech that will definitely go down in the history of the Democratic Party, and we’ll be hearing a lot more from Cory Booker.”

“Bernie did an excellent job,” added McNamara. “The speech was wonderful, and everyone — everyone — cheered him.”

McNamara added, “Sen. Sanders stating that this campaign is not about Bernie Sanders, it is not about Hillary Clinton, it’s about the future of our nation, our children and grandchildren, was something, to me, that really hit home.” McNamara said that felt like Sanders’ way of telling his followers, “We’ve worked very hard, but it’s time to support the platform that represents many of the ideals of the campaign.”

With Sanders organizers fanning out to all the convention hotels to collect delegate signatures supporting a roll-call vote, there was reaction from both the Clinton camp and among local delegates at their daily breakfast meeting this morning.

“We anticipate there will be a roll call vote tomorrow night and that every vote will be counted,” said Brian Fallon, Hilary For America’s national press secretary, at a media briefing this morning. “We’re happy to have it. It is exactly in keeping with our philosophy that every vote should count and that means every delegate being counted on the floor of the convention.”

At the Rhode Island delegation breakfast this morning, a volunteer from Pennsylvania was circulating among the tables collecting some of the required 600 delegate names. “It’s so that there can be a roll call vote, so people can actually say if they’re for Bernie Sanders” said Lauren Niedel, a Sanders delegate and one of the leaders of the Sanders movement in Rhode Island.

“No one would ever ask them not to,” said RI Democratic Party chair Joe McNamara. “But I think the important takeaway is the inclusion of those Democratic ideas and ideals that Sen. Sanders promoted in his campaign into the platform. We can see and hear the party uniting behind Secretary Clinton.”

John Hamilton, Sanders delegate and committee co-chair, acknowledged the direction that the floor vote seemed likely to head. “I don’t think there is going to be a second ballot. I don’t see it happening.”

Also at the breakfast, McNamara reported on their walk-through of the hall. “We checked out the Wells Fargo Center yesterday, and Rhode Island is positioned exactly where we should be, in the middle of the convention hall, slightly elevated above the rest on the floor, approximately 220 feet from the podium.”

Speaking to an RI Future reporter, McNamara praised the efforts of Aaron Regunberg in representing Rhode Island on the Rules Committee and helping to work out the Unity Commission compromise on superdelegates.

“To have a young, talented state representative like Rep. Regunberg on board gives a great deal of credibility to that,” he said. “I think everyone agrees that there has to be some adjustment in that process.”

McNamara called Regunberg “A great asset and a great role model for millennials.”

In a not-so-subtle dig at Brandon Bell’s remarks at last week’s Republican Convention, McNamara reported that “Speaker Mattielo will have a positive message tomorrow when he reports the votes, and we’re looking forward to a great convention.”