I just got done watching the closing night of the Republican National Convention, which was closed out surprisingly by a (pretty decent) opera singer. Donald Trump gave the speech of his life, and was much more subdued than he's ever been, no doubt due to the events that took place last Saturday.

I wonder what foreigners think of our massive political conventions and the American election process in general?

Does anybody else quite do it like we do?

Trump was wise to smooth the sharp edges of his usual stump speech, and aside from immigration, he stayed away from divisive stances on subjects. I thought the kinder, gentler, Donald was a smart pivot, and I could see his message reaching the centrists in the middle that actually decide most elections.

I thought he was very effective when taking us step-by-step through his thought process as the shooting was unfolding. This will connect with a lot of viewers, and humanizes him in a way we've never seen before.

Looks like the Democrats have some work to do if they hope to counter this...

Despite not being a Republican (or a Democrat either), I'm honestly happy that Trump survived the attempt, as I hate to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't. Having said that, I'm still worried as we have 4 long months until election day, and anything can happen between now and then.

Reports are that Trump and Vance have a rally scheduled for this coming weekend (I believe?) in Michigan. I'll be on the edge of my seat hoping we've seen the last of election-related violence, and that he and however the Democrats end up nominating, make it to election day peacefully.

I'm still concerned though, as it almost feel as if the room is wired with explosives, and we're all racing against a timer to find our way out.

Word is that Biden is finally really considering dropping out, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Question is: will he just drop out and remain President, or drop out and resign? If he did so, it would give Harris more of a boost than if he remained in office. I'm truly astonished at just how quickly things have changed since the start of the year, and how much more the pot could be stirred between now and November.

Every once in awhile we'll see a small convoy of vehicles come in from beyond the suburbs, laden with Trump signs and honking their horns. My area is so liberal that anyone who actually IS a Republican wisely keeps a low profile about it.

The political divisions are very pronounced, so much so that if anything happens to Trump, I'd be worried about how MAGA nation would react.

Fingers crossed so that we can all get through this peacefully together as Americans, and put country before politics.