What We Learned From the D.N.C.

Last night, the Democratic National Convention capped off four days of remote speeches, video montages and roll-call votes with a final address from the party’s presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

“America’s history tells us that it has been in our darkest moments that we’ve made our greatest progress,” Biden said, in a speech that mixed a somber assessment of the state of the country with hopeful appeals to its values. “And in this dark moment, I believe we are poised to make great progress again.”

What did the convention tell us about the Democrats’ message for November? Our colleague Lisa Lerer, who writes the On Politics newsletter, suggested four big takeaways.

1. Character and the coronavirus. The convention pitched Biden’s Washington experience and story of personal tragedy as a match for a moment of national crisis.