Daily Digest: Democratic stars come out for Clinton

Good morning and welcome to Thursday, the last day of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. The third day saw the biggest names in Democratic politics on the stage in Philadelphia making the case for Hillary Clinton and against Donald Trump. And their speeches came just hours after Trump seemed to invite Russia to play a role in deciding the U.S. election. Let's go to the Digest.

1. President Obama was the headliner on behalf of Clinton, and he delivered a long speech that defended his record, said she would carry it forward and argued that the picture of America Trump painted at his own convention is wrong. The Democratic president spoke of values typically promoted by Republicans, and other than himself and Bill Clinton, the presidents he cited were Republicans; Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan. Obama said he was passing the baton to Clinton, and his legacy is now tightly tied to whether she prevails in November. The narrative of the election is also clear: The Democrats are running on extending the status quo, while the Republicans are offering radical change. (Washington Post)

2. Two of the speakers to hit the stage before the president came from different political backgrounds to reach the same conclusions about Clinton and Trump. Vice President Joe Biden is a lifelong Democrat and Michael Bloomberg is a Republican turned independent. But both used slashing rhetoric to paint Trump as dangerously unprepared and ill-suited to be president. By contrast they said Clinton was qualified, steady and reliable. Bloomberg in particular made a pitch to independent voters, saying Clinton wasn't perfect, but that she was far superior to Trump. (Wall Street Journal)

3. Clinton's pick for vice president, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine was really no match for Biden or Bloomberg. He tried to both introduce himself and attack Trump. Overall his speech was not as effective as the one he gave over the weekend in Miami. (Politico)

4. Before Tim Kaine's speech, some Minnesota delegates said they weren't convinced Kaine is the right choice for vice president. Sanders supporters were hoping for a ticket that balanced their candidate's left-of-center philosophy with the more moderate views of Hillary Clinton. Many felt let down when Clinton announced Kaine, a St. Paul native, last week, instead of a better known liberal such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. (MPR News)

5. Donald Trump Wednesday urged Russia to find and make public emails that have not been recovered from Clinton's private server when she was secretary of state. The Clinton campaign responded almost immediately. "This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That's not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue," said Clinton advisor Jake Sullivan. Trump's comments came as consensus is growing that Russian intelligence agencies were behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee's emails and speculation that Russia is trying to influence the U.S. election. (NPR)

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