Dems open eclectic convention with GOP defectors, a Russian lobbyist and Michelle Obama

Delivering on a promise for variety, the Democrats showcased the diverse and at times unpredictable state of their party during the first night of former Vice President Joe Biden's nominating convention.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, warned that planet earth was at stake in the upcoming election while several Republican defectors pledged their support for the impending nominee -- including a former congresswoman who worked for Russia as a lobbyist. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on the sidelines of the event, offered an unexpected defense of China. 

In the end, it was Michelle Obama's impassioned plea for unity to defeat President Trump that rounded out the evening and stole the show.

“We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden," she said when closing out the first night of the convention.

Obama also directly attacked Trump, calling him “the wrong president for our country.”

"He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is," she said.

"If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don’t make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” she added.

Overall, the night's messaging, at times, offered contradictions. Sanders, the aging icon of the party's far left, made the case for a liberal agenda for Biden presidency ranging from universal health care and pre-K to dramatic action on climate change.

"The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake," Sanders said on opening night of the Democratic National Convention. "We must come together, defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president. My friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine.”

Referring to Trump's handling of the pandemic, Sanders said that "Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfs."

However, former Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich argued that Biden would not move far to the left and leave moderates behind.

"I'm sure there are Republicans and independents who couldn't imagine crossing over to support a Democrat. They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don't believe that because I know the measure of the man reasonable, faithful, respectful and you know, no one pushes Joe around. Joe Biden is a man for our times," he said.

Kasich was among a handful of Republican defectors who stood on the virtual stage. One, Rep. Susan Molanari of New York, ended up making news in an uninvited way as her former party jumped on revelations she worked as a lobbyist for Vladimir Putin, who has been a frequent target of criticism from Democrats in the Trump era due to the investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign.

And one of Trump's global foes — China — received a boost from the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee when Mrs. Clinton said she couldn't fault Beijing for acting in their "own self-interest" as a pandemic, originating from a virus in Wuhan, continues around the globe.

“They're playing the long game. And as I say, you can't blame a country for acting in its own self interest. We can question ourselves for not being more effective in how we deal with China's new, more aggressive, ambitious approach," Clinton said.