I'm Michelle Goldberg.

I'm Michelle Cattle.

I'm Jamel Buie.

And I'm Frank Bruney.

And this is the argument.

The Democratic Convention is finally here.

If you can even call it a convention.

Like all else about a presidential campaign conducted in the shadow of a pandemic,

it's nothing like what happened in years past.

Does that negate its usefulness?

What can and should Democrats accomplish through this socially distanced, virtual extravaganza?

To answer these questions, we're doing something a little different today.

Four of us are hosting the show.

But none of the four is Ross.

Who's on vacation?

And we're gathering on Tuesday morning after the first night of the convention.

So we're in the middle of a news event,

which means plenty is going to happen after this recording.

But whatever transpires, there are questions that will endure between now and election day and the morning after.

There are questions about the Biden-Harris ticket, about the state of the Democratic Party,

and about the threats to the election.

So with no further throw clearing, let me welcome our guest co-hosts.

...