I wonder what the average age of our speakers at the convention will be.

[karynnj]

29. I think she will - as likely will John Kerry - as they were the team on climate change

I suspect that the Politico "leak" is just a list of prominent Democrats. I think any one of us could have created that list -- not as the speakers -- but as a list of party elders - though clearly John Kerry and Al Gore should be added. I don't think Politico is known for having an inside tract here. Note they quote blast from the past, Ed Rendell! Note that they are missing almost all younger Democrats and even worse almost all important people of color. WHERE IS REPRESTANTIVE CLYBURN's name? If there is one person, other than Biden, who turned the tide it is him.

I think AOC or Stacy Abrams would be great choices for the keynote speech, which is almost always given to an up and coming star. (There might be some other less obvious people like one of the many young, freshmen national security Democrats - like Mikie Sherrill or one of the new Virginia representatives.)

I suspect that the person who wrote this list is likely old him or herself. President Obama, Jill Biden and Michelle Obama will be the main people endorsing Biden. Bill Clinton may speak - but I doubt that he will be as prominent as he was in the past. (ie he now will be the long ago Past President, less relevant than President Obama. (Think the Jimmy Carter role - although he did get 2 terms) I think, HRC would actually be more prominent than BC ... I also think that a fantastic idea would be for her to be one of the main people endorsing the VP, who will be a woman. I don't know her connections to all the possibilities, but for the main ones they are strong.

Given that foreign policy will be a major issue - along with the many domestic issues - Kerry is very likely the one who will be chosen to speak on climate change and foreign policy. He has long been a Biden friend, an early endorser, and he was instrumental on both the Iran deal and Paris Accord. He and AOC seemed to have worked very well together on the platform. If he were mainly to speak of climate change, it might be interesting to pair the two of them in presenting Biden's platform there. His relevance on these issues make him a better choice than Hillary Clinton to speak on them. (As noted, HRC as the first female nominee could be the one to speak of the VP.)