For all of the speakers and images showcasing diversity, and the remarks emphasizing progressive goals, another reality is clear at this midway point in the four-day Democratic convention: This is a party dominated by a 77-year-old white male and leaders from the past with whom he is comfortable, holding to a platform and a campaign that is more centrist and establishment-heavy than left-wing.

Of the eight political figures who got the most speaking time Tuesday, only Sally Q. Yates, the 59-year-old former acting attorney general, is younger than 69 years old. Only Colin Powell, 83, isnt white, and Ms. Yates was the only woman who didnt appear in a capacity as a political spouse.

That will shift somewhat tonight, when Senator Elizabeth Warren and Speaker Nancy Pelosi speak, and major roles go to Kamala Harris, the vice-presidential nominee, and former President Barack Obama. But it wont feel like the future-oriented convention of 2008, when a 47-year-old Mr. Obama minted a new image and new coalition for the Democratic Party.

On the first two nights of the convention, the energy embodied by the partys progressive movement was shoehorned into two speakers: Senator Bernie Sanders, who on Monday urged his followers to swallow their disappointment and back Joseph R. Biden Jr., and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who in her 90-second Tuesday slot made a pitch for a movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia.

By keeping Ms. Ocasio-Cortez from a prime speaking slot and dividing the keynote address between 17 young-but-moderate officials the Biden campaign focused its convention on the political middle, avoiding obvious land mines for the Trump campaign to exploit.

Even Mr. Bidens selection of Ms. Harris as his running mate was an exercise in tapping a successor who can shepherd the partys next generation without moving it too far left. Ms. Harris, though she briefly endorsed Mr. Sanderss single-payer health care plans, has a long history as a pragmatist.

Democrats certainly hope the combination of Ms. Harris on the ticket and the prime speaking slots given to Barack and Michelle Obama beloved figures, but also leaders from the past spurs Black turnout that sagged in battleground states in 2016. But the key to victory may be holding onto gains in the suburbs, where many women and longtime Republican voters are watching the Democratic Partys older, moderate leaders and envisioning a return to a less chaotic time.

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At the conventions midpoint, a liberal and diverse party with older, moderate leaders. - The New York Times