CHELSEA —

On the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Obama’s firepower was twice as strong: He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and ruthlessly condemned Republican Donald Trump. The convention also featured a loud roll call of states that was essentially one big dance party.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, left Chicago for a rally just off the freeway in Milwaukee and to canvass voters in battleground Wisconsin, a sign that, despite the upbeat mood at the convention, Democrats expect this presidential election to be a close one.

Here are some takeaways from the second night of the congress.

The Club of Ex-Presidents

While the Republican convention was all about Trump, the Democrats wanted to place Harris in a pantheon of former presidents on Tuesday.

The biggest supporters of the evening were former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, the latter joining Harris with her husband by telling the enthusiastic crowd, “America, hope is returning.”

Barack Obama, for his part, drew on his own speech at the 2004 convention to connect Harris with his legacy. “I’m hopeful – because this convention has always been very good for kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible,” he said.

It wasn’t just the Obamas who campaigned for the vice president. The grandchildren of Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy also portrayed her as the natural heir to former top Democratic politicians.

As groundbreaking as Harris’s candidacy is as her party’s first woman of color, these speeches by a former president and her descendants were about placing her in a larger historical context and rekindling the enthusiasm for Obama’s 2008 candidacy that Harris hopes to replicate.

Off the main road

The Obamas did not hold back in attacking Trump. Michelle Obama’s hackneyed saying from years past, “When they go low, we rise high,” no longer seemed to hold.

Barack Obama called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped complaining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

Michelle Obama also took a personal stand and said: “For years, Donald Trump has done everything in his power to make people afraid of us. Because of his limited and narrow view of the world, he felt threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated and successful people who also happened to be black.”

Michelle Obama alluded to her famous statement that Republicans were hitting rock bottom, saying Trump was hitting rock bottom and that it was “unhealthy and, quite frankly, unpresidential.”

DNC Dance Party

Political conventions technically take place so that delegates can nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates.

This year, Democrats did that job in advance, but that didn’t stop them from holding a ceremonial rerun and turning it into a wild dance party.

DJ Cassidy took the stage in a light blue double-breasted suit and played music for each state as Harris and Walz were nominated. Minnesota got “1999” by Prince, Kansas got “Carry on Wayward Son” by, well, Kansas. “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen was played while New Jersey participated.

Typically, it was governors or party leaders who called the votes, but some states used the microphone to make serious arguments. Kate Cox, who unsuccessfully sued her home state of Texas while seeking an abortion for a nonviable fetus, announced the votes in Texas. A survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas Strip massacre announced the votes in Nevada.

The highlight of the roll calls came when Atlanta rapper Lil Jon marched through the United Center to the beats of “Turn Down for What,” his song with DJ Snake, rapping his support for Harris and Walz.

Democrats like to emphasize how Harris’ rise has given the party new momentum. The roll calls fit that mood.

America’s Blind Date with Doug Emhoff

Doug Emhoff wants America to love his wife as much as he does.

His speech Tuesday night focused on the couple’s love story and offered a personal insight that should also attract voters. He recounted the details of their first phone call after he left her a jumbled voicemail that she makes him listen to every year on their anniversary.

“I love that laugh,” he said admiringly, contradicting Trump’s criticism of Harris’ laughter.

When Harris flew back to Chicago from Milwaukee after her rally, Air Force Two spent another 10 minutes in the air so she could watch her husband’s speech, according to an aide.

Emhoff said he “just fell in love with Harris quickly,” adding that she “delighted in pursuing justice” and “standing up to bullies.” That’s not how most husbands describe their partners, but Emhoff is trying to convince voters that the woman he’s been married to for 10 years this Thursday knows how to take on Trump.

A message to Republicans: It’s OK to give up on Trump

The Democrats are courting the favor of dissatisfied Trump voters – and are using one of his former White House employees to do so.

Stephanie Grisham served in a variety of roles in the Trump White House, including communications director and press secretary, allowing Democrats to argue that those who know Trump best have seen him at his worst.

“He has no compassion, no morals and no loyalty to the truth,” Grisham said. “I could no longer be part of this madness.”

Kyle Sweetser, a Trump voter from Alabama, said at the convention that the former president’s tariffs have made life harder for construction workers like him. Republican Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, also spoke about why he supports Harris. Giles believes Trump’s policies are hurting cities like his.