"Emerging from the curtains on the first night of Crooked Con, like a reliever trotting onto the field in the bottom of the ninth, was none other than Barack Obama. He was the surprise guest on a live episode of Pod Save America, the flagship podcast of Crooked Media-a content studio founded by the quartet of ex-Obama staffers and speechwriters Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, and Dan Pfeiffer, who produced this convention."
"Crooked Con, essentially the company's fan festival, is occurring in the aftermath of a string of election victories that jolted renewed energy into a Democratic coalition previously thought dead in the water. Obama's message, therefore, was one of unity. To protect the tenuous good vibes that are currently binding liberals together, said Obama, we must resist the affiliatory fractiousness that has tormented Democrats since he left office."
"That commitment to pluralism is threaded throughout the Crooked Con itinerary of seminars, interviews, and salons. The ticketed audience is here primarily because nobody seems especially sure what the Democrats represent in 2025. Depending on who you ask, the destiny of the party should be framed through the prism of Navy helicopter pilots, or card-carrying Democratic Socialists of America members, or onetime CIA operatives. Amid this confusion, Crooked Con has invited all parties to the table to see what shakes loose."
Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at Crooked Con on a live Pod Save America episode and delivered a keynote urging unity and pluralism within the Democratic coalition. Crooked Media, founded by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, and Dan Pfeiffer, produced the convention. Obama emphasized resisting litmus tests and affiliatory fractiousness, citing recent wins by Abigail Spanberger and Zohran Mamdani as part of a shared vision. The convention’s seminars, interviews, and salons intentionally gathered diverse Democratic constituencies amid widespread uncertainty about what the party represents in 2025.
Read at Slate Magazine
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