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A guide to day one of the Democratic convention

PHILADELPHIA — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have one thing in common: Their conventions got off to rocky starts.

The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is set up ahead of the start of the Democratic National Convention. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have one thing in common: Their conventions got off to rocky starts.

For Trump, it was a plagiarism scandal that surfaced after wife Melania's speech on the first night of the convention. For Clinton, it was an uproar over the release of nearly 20,000 party emails by Wikileaks ahead of the convention's start, some of which showed Democratic staffers favoring Clinton over her primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders. The controversy led to party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announcing on the eve of the convention's start that she would step down when it ended.

Here's what to watch for on day one after the gavel comes down in the Wells Fargo Center on Monday afternoon:

Bernie Sanders, peacemaker?

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his Capitol Hill office in July. (Photo: Jasper Colt, USA TODAY)

Who better to unify the Democratic Party than the democratic socialist who's called for a political revolution.

It may not be the convention role Bernie Sanders coveted, but the Vermont senator's prime-time address to delegates will take on new importance following the upheaval in the Democratic Party the last few days.

On Sunday, Sanders and his supporters finally got what they'd demanded for a while: Wasserman Schultz's removal as head of the Democratic National Committee, effective upon the conclusion of the Philadelphia convention.

"The party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome in working people and young people," Sanders said in a statement following the Florida congresswoman's announcement.

Since his endorsement earlier this month of Clinton, Sanders has been an enthusiastic defender of the presumptive nominee's credentials as a fighter for liberal causes he campaign on, as well as a fierce critic of Donald Trump.

So, in other words, don't expect a Ted Cruz-like moment in Philadelphia. The real question is, can Sanders convince his most ardent backers to support Clinton and a Democratic Party after an email scandal that, for many, confirmed their suspicions about party officials and a primary campaign that left many of them disenchanted?

If progressives need more motivation, Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren, a hero to the left, is also scheduled to speak on behalf of Clinton Monday night.

Another 2016 Michelle Obama convention address

First lady Michelle Obama participates in a White House event on July 19, 2016. (Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images)

Whatever the over/under is on Michelle Obama/Melania Trump jokes on Twitter tonight, you should probably bet the over. You know what happened, but we'll briefly recount it for you anyway: Soon after Melania Trump's address to the Cleveland convention a week ago, it was discovered that a couple of passages appeared largely lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic convention address in Denver. After a series of denials and suggestions the Clinton campaign was propping up the controversy, a Trump Organization staffer eventually acknowledged the error and took the blame.

It's not clear whether Obama herself will go there in her remarks, but it's a safe assumption that Democratic operatives will relish in bringing up last week's imbroglio before and after the first lady's speech Monday night.

But perhaps more important, Mrs. Obama is a popular figure in the Democratic Party and nationally, and as a Clinton surrogate, she could further strengthen the former secretary of State's advantage with female voters.

A different message on immigration

Immigration activist Astrid Silva introduces President Obama at a 2014 event in Las Vegas. (Photo: Isaac Brekken, AP)

She doesn't have the high profile of Michelle Obama or Bernie Sanders, but Astrid Silva was tapped as a headline speaker Monday night to hammer home the convention's opening night theme: United Together.

The nation first learned about Silva in November 2014 when President Obama cited her story of coming to the United States from Mexico when she was 4 in announcing executive orders aimed at protecting millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation — actions that were later blocked by a federal judge, a decision that remains in place after the Supreme Court deadlocked on the matter last month.

In his GOP acceptance speech last Thursday, Trump struck a decidedly different note than the one we're likely to hear all week from Philadelphia, beginning with Silva.

"We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities," Trump said in Cleveland.

"Are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful immigrant like Astrid, or are we a nation that finds a way to welcome her in?" Obama said of Silva in 2014, a message that, nearly two years later, will likely be emphasized throughout the four-day convention in Philadelphia.

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