Day 3 takeaways: Obama leads parade of all-stars for Clinton

PHILADELPHIA — It was A-list night at the Democratic National Convention. Vice President Biden, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg (perhaps the nation's best-known independent pol) and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine all addressed delegates.

And they were just the opening acts. Top takeaways from the penultimate night in Philadelphia:

DNC highlights: Obama's moment, WikiLeaks disruptions, Kaine's Trump impression

Obama passes the baton

It's hard to know what would've seemed more unlikely to Barack Obama when he first addressed the Democratic convention in 2004: that 12 years later he would be speaking to delegates as a two-term president or that he would be imploring American voters in 2016 not to elect Donald Trump to succeed him.

The president seemed, at times, almost baffled by the 2016 campaign. “People outside of the United States do not understand what is going on in this election," he explained with something of a wry grin. He asked voters to consider whether they really think that the 70-year-old Trump would suddenly become their "champion" after never in his life having demonstrated a deep concern for the working class. He also warned repeatedly that the GOP nominee was essentially a demagogue looking to upend fundamental tenets of American democracy.

Obama: 'There has never been a man or a woman more qualified' than Clinton

As for Hillary Clinton, his one-time primary rival, Obama made clear he views her as uniquely qualified to be his successor. "There has never been a man or a woman — not me, not Bill, nobody — more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.”

And for Democrats and Americans who first became enchanted with an Illinois state senator in 2004, then twice elected him to the highest office in the land, Obama offered plenty of the same lofty oratory that first made the nation notice a "a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too" as he described himself 12 years earlier.

“Hope in the face of difficulty," the president said. "Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope. America, you’ve vindicated that hope these past eight years.

"And now, I’m ready to pass the baton," he said, shortly before Clinton joined him on stage.

For Clinton, Obama is an asset — and a challenge

Joe for .... just about anything

It's Philadelphia. The theme from Rocky blared as the Democratic vice president of the United States marched onto a stage in the state where he was born, just across the river from the state he represented in Congress for decades. He could have read the back of a baseball card and the crowd would have gone wild.

Biden made the most of his moment, saying that Donald Trump's claim to care about the middle class was "a bunch of malarky!" The crowd erupted.

When Biden's son died of cancer last year, he decided he simply could not generate the passion to run for president this year. His convention love fest stands as a reminder how strong a challenge he would have posed to Hillary Clinton had he decided the other way.

Tim Kaine makes debut on the big stage

Let's face it: the Democratic vice presidential nominee drew a pretty tough speaking slot. He followed the man he hopes to succeed, Biden, a beloved figure among Democrats who was vintage Joe during his convention farewell as vice president. The speaker who followed him? Just the president of the United States, who's been known to deliver a pretty good speech before this convention.

Kaine accepts VP nod, blasts Trump as untrustworthy

Suffice it to say, Kaine wasn't going to be the headliner delegates were talking about as they walked out of the Wells Fargo Center late Wednesday night.

But still, the Virginia senator did what he set out to do. He presented his working-class upbringing and time as a missionary in Honduras and later a civil rights attorney — a sharp contrast to Trump's biography that Democrats will undoubtedly be happy to highlight over the coming months. The Virginia senator landed his fair share of punches against the GOP presidential nominee, blasting him as untrustworthy while even parodying the billionaire for telling jilted contractors and vendors: "Believe me."

He also switched into Spanish from time to time, a reminder that he was picked in part to serve as emissary to critical Hispanic voters.

Kaine is still a relatively new figure on the national scene, and he didn't do anything to hurt his standing Wednesday night. But let's face it: Tonight for Democrats was about the ticket they're bidding farewell to more than the one they hope takes office in January.

How do you hate war and ISIS at the same time?

The convention appearance of former Defense secretary Leon Panetta highlighted just how hard it is for Democrats to talk about foreign policy. Democrats were criticized by conservatives for the first two days of the convention for barely mentioning terrorism and the Islamic State extremist group. Panetta took the stage Wednesday and began laying out the hazards around the world, and Clinton's qualifications to defeat it. "Hillary Clinton is the only candidate who has laid out a comprehensive plan to defeat and destroy ISIS and keep America safe," he said.

But a disruption began in the stands, as delegates bean chanting "No more war!" It was a reminder that the eternal anti-war protest troupe Code Pink controls a corner of the Democratic Party, and it will be a very vocal corner Clinton or any other Democrat begins preparing to send more American troops to fight overseas, no matter how vile the enemy.