this is "nightline." >> opening night chaos at the democratic national convention pushed aside by the first lady in a rousing speech. >> to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives. >> a turning point after the head of the party is ousted over leaked e-mails. angry delegates still feeling the bern. tonight sanders telling them he's with her. >> hillary clinton must become the next president of the united states! plus, she's been at the center of democratic politics and weathering public scandals for decades. her detractors call her untrustworthy. >> crooked hillary clinton. >> is it reasonable scrutiny? >> say things about me -- >> or the so-called hillary standard? first the "nightline 5."

>> a lifetime of your dog's nutritional needs all in one. purina one. healthy energy and a taste he loves. purina one smart blend expertly blended with always real meat. 1 number one. all in one, purina one. neat fast heartburn relief? try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool zantac. no pill relieves heartburn faster. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

good evening. from the city of brotherly love where the democrats kicked off their national party convention. the heat outside this hall matched the palpable "bern" in the arena.

it was a day that began with chaos and division but ended with michelle obama and hillary clinton's main rival bernie sanders stemming the tide of turmoil. calling for unity against republican opponent donald trump. tonight on this the first night of the democratic national convention, one first lady making the case for another like no one has before. >> i wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. and i watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the white house lawn. >> reporter: an emotional plea. tearing up as she described her journey. >> and because of hillary clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the united states. >> reporter: hillary, she says, is the leader we need for our children.

>> in this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives. >> reporter: taking a straight shot at donald trump. >> when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. no, our motto is, when they go low, we go high. >> reporter: her words uniting the crowd in a standing ovation. after a fractious opening day as an e-mail scandal at the dnc showed that operatives there worked to undermine the sanders campaign. but amid the controversy, bernie sanders, hillary clinton's former rival, took the stage to a hero's welcome. >> thank you! >> reporter: thanking his supporters for their loyalty. then pledging to continue the revolution. >> it is no secret that hillary clinton and i disagree on a number of issues. that is what this campaign has been about. that is what democracy is about. >> reporter: sanders redirecting

his supporters to focus their passion instead on defeating donald trump. >> if you don't believe that this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the supreme court justices that donald trump would nominate. this election is not about and has never been about hillary clinton or donald trump or bernie sanders or any of the other candidates who sought the presidency, but the struggle of the people to create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1%. >> reporter: and finally, the moment the clinton camp had been waiting for. >> hillary clinton must become the next president of the united states! >> reporter: sanders' speech the

culmination of a rousing first night at convention with music stars like demi lovato. ♪ what's wrong with being powerful ♪ >> reporter: paul simon. ♪ like a bridge over troubled water ♪ >> reporter: and a powerhouse slate of political heavy hitters like elizabeth warren wasting no time ripping into the gop nominee. >> a man who cares only for himself. >> reporter: she's been one of the party's most effective attack dogs against donald trump. >> last week, donald trump spoke for more than an hour on the biggest stage he's ever had. but other than talking about building a stupid wall, which will never get built -- [ applause ] other than that wall, did you hear any actual ideas? >> reporter: but there were real fears that sanders supporters would disrupt the convention.

the tension of the day perhaps diffused by laughter courtesy of senator al franken and comedienne sarah silverman. >> i'm senator al franken and this past year, i've been hash tag i'm with her. >> i'm sarah silverman and this past year i've been feeling the bern. relax, i put some cream on it. >> reporter: silverman, a vocal sanders supporter, made a compelling case for democrats to join team hillary. >> hillary is our democratic nominee, and i will proudly vote for her -- >> reporter: also dishing out some tough love. >> to the bernie or bust people, you're being ridiculous. >> reporter: earlier today, pro-bernie anger spilling onto the streets of philadelphia. >> we won't vote for hillary! >> reporter: at a raucous meeting with his delegates,

the crowd booing when he told them to vote for hillary clinton. >> we have got to elect hillary clinton and tim kaine! [ boos ] >> reporter: their bitterness from the primary exacerbated after wikileaks released nearly 20,000 internal e-mails hacked from the dnc server. in some, high-ranking officials appear to mock sanders, seeming to conspire against his campaign. one message from a dnc staffer proposed using sanders' faith against him writing, my southern baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a jew and an atheist. >> this was supposed to be the moment of party unity, what is going on? >> this is the opposite of party unity, this is exactly the start you don't want if you're hillary clinton. >> reporter: throughout the primary sanders and his supporters accused the democratic national committee of working against them. >> when we talk about a rigged system, it's also important to understand how the democratic convention works. >> reporter: how angry are the bernie supporters about what's in those e-mails?

>> that lit a fuse on a powder keg. they were finally getting to a point where they were almost united, then this blew up. >> reporter: while clinton won both the primary battle in both total votes and pledged delegates, the e-mail leak is reigniting the residual anger that many sanders supporters still feel. >> debbie wasserman schultz! >> reporter: the day was all about damage control. dnc chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz announcing she'd resign after the convention. but after being heckled and booed by her own florida delegates -- the congresswoman giving up her slot to gavel in the convention saying she wanted it to start out on a positive note. but that wasn't enough to appease wrathful bernie supporters. >> i can't support her. >> you can't support hillary clinton? >> i can't say right now. >> it's going to be very hard to support her.

>> reporter: some even repeating the anti-hillary slogan heard at the republican convention. "lock her up." >> lock her up! >> reporter: national security officials believe russian operatives hacked into the dnc server. >> this absolutely was not an amateur operation. >> reporter: and passed their e-mails on to wikileaks in an attempt to influence the elections. the republican nominee on the campaign trail today mocking the disarray among democrats. >> she just got fired. they said, debbie, you're fired. get out, debbie. out, boom. >> reporter: his attacks may soon have an impact. polls out "today" show donald trump is benefiting from a convention bounce. tied in one national poll and leading clinton by 3 points in another. like the republicans, day one for the democrats had moments of chaos. as the night came to a close, the message of party unity and good will seemed to be shining through. >> hillary clinton will make an outstanding president, and i am proud to stand with her tonight. thank you all very much.

up next, after decades in the withering spotlight, scandal after scandal, how do people see hillary clinton? later, at the convention there's a delegate for almost every age. we sought out the outliers. you've wished upon it all year, and now it's finally here. the mercedes-benz summer event is back, with incredible offers on the mercedes-benz you've always longed for. but hurry, these shooting stars fly by fast. lease the cla250 for $299 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. what aremaking a cake!ht now? ayla reminds me of like a master chef and emiana reminds me of like a monster chef. uh oh. i don't see cake, i just see mess. it's like awful. it feels like i am not actually cleaning it up

what's that make mommy do? (doorbell) what's that? swiffer wetjet. so much stuff coming up. this is amazing woah. wow. now i feel more like making a mess is part of growing up. stop cleaning. start swiffering. when you don't get enough and your body aches... you're not yourself. tylenol® pm relieves pain and helps you fall fast asleep and stay asleep. we give you a better night. you're a better you all day. tylenol®. mobility is very important to me. that's why i use e*trade mobile. it's on all my mobile devices, so it suits my mobile lifestyle. and it keeps my investments fully mobile... even when i'm on the move.

sign up at etrade.com and get up to six hundred dollars.

hillary clinton has been at the center of the nation's political skirmishes for decades. she's established an impressive resume as first lady, senator, and secretary of state. but the ride to democratic presidential nominee has been anything but smooth.

and that includes tonight. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: tonight that opening gavel brought her convention to -- order? >> bernie, bernie! >> reporter: no such luck. hillary clinton's road to the white house was always bound to be bumpy. this is not her first rodeo. and yet it's not like she's ever managed to make it look easy. >> well, this isn't exactly the party i'd planned. >> reporter: back in 1992, her first national convention, opened to an entirely different mood. >> the crowd now on the floor welcoming their nominee for president. >> reporter: back in the day, bill clinton was the new democrat, promising not just a change of parties after 12 years of reagan and bush, but promising to change the democratic party itself. >> it's time to change america. >> reporter: she and bill clinton walked to madison square garden from macy's, triumphant.

that was the night they introduced him to america as the man from hope. >> it was a wonderful little small town where it seemed that everybody knew everybody else. i mean, my grandfather had a grade school education. and my grandmother had graduated from high school from a tiny little school out in arkansas. >> his grandmother valued education above all else. >> reporter: a lifetime ago, right? both so fresh-faced. the baby boom coming into its own. now, hillary clinton is older and battle-scarred. the ultimate insider. or as the trump campaign likes to put it, she embodies the status quo. her ambition, never a secret. >> i'm not just starting a campaign, though, i'm beginning a conversation. >> reporter: her willingness to work hard never in doubt. yet she has struggled to get even this far. overshadowed by obama in 2008. >> what can you say to the voters who seem to like barack obama more?

>> well, that hurts my feelings. >> you're likeable enough, hillary. >> thank you. >> reporter: under siege from sanders this primary season. >> and i question her judgment. >> reporter: the insurgency apparently not over yet. >> bernie, bernie! >> the party is the most important thing that she has to do. this is hopeful for voters, i think. they're not large but they're large enough. they don't like trump, they don't like clinton, they're about to have a chance to see a straight-up comparison between the two of them week to week. they're the ones she has to appeal to. >> reporter: her husband, like him or not, was a natural politician. instinctively able to connect. >> i've been governor of a small state for 12 years. i'll tell you how it's affected me. >> reporter: hillary clinton has struggled with that. rarely has she shown real vulnerability. when she has, it's paid off. >> just don't want to see us fall backwards. you know? >> reporter: so clinton is slogging it out, campaigning

today in the swing state of north carolina. today we met one woman who voted for bill clinton but isn't yet convinced on hillary. >> i was a bernie supporter. and i want to hear what hillary has to say. >> reporter: objectively, she is much more qualified than her husband was when he ran. over the past 30 years, she's checked all the boxes. globe-trotting first lady. superstar senator. secretary of state. logging nearly 1 million miles, visiting 112 countries. >> i ask you to vote for her because she's got the best record, because she's the most qualified to be commander in chief. but more important than anything else, she's identified the problems, proposed solutions, her numbers add up, and she's the single-best changemaker i've ever met. >> reporter: she's been scandal-prone, largely through no fault of her own. >> i did not have sexual relations with that woman, miss lewinski. >> reporter: partly because she's made matters worse for herself. remember that trip to bosnia when she supposedly came under

sniper fire? >> there was no greeting ceremony. and we basically were told to run to our cars. now, that is what happened. >> reporter: the pictures and the other people on that trip made it clear there was no such threat. more recently, she's had to contend with benghazi. her ties to wall street. and why she chose to use that personal e-mail server in violation of state department rules. >> there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. >> reporter: and more recently in an interview with "60 minutes" she talked about the hillary standard. >> i often feel like there's the hillary standard and then there's the standard for everybody else. >> what's the hillary standard? >> well, it is unfounded, inaccurate, mean-spirited attacks with no basis in truth, reality, which take on a life of their own. >> reporter: policy positions too have evolved over the years. all of which hadn't exactly reassured voters that she can be trusted. >> crooked hillary, right? crooked hillary. >> reporter: recent polls show

that that's a huge achilles heel for her. two out of three voters don't think she's honest and trustworthy, in fact voters trust trump more than they trust her. one plus for clinton, a generation of young voters who have no firsthand memory of those scandals from the '90s. we met two of them today. >> the rose law firm? do you know about the rose law firm? >> i've heard about it but at this moment i don't -- >> who is vince foster? >> to be honest, i do not know. >> monica lewinski? does that name ring a bell? >> yes, i did not have relations with that woman. >> along those lines, yes. >> reporter: the trouble is, many of those younger voters were more excited about bernie sanders. >> one of the real problems with hillary clinton is that she's sort of a hostage of her history. people who came of age under obama and for who obama is kind of starting point rather than a political miracle, they just see the compromises.

you know? they don't see the circumstances in which she had to make those compromises. >> reporter: convention this week in philadelphia is clinton's best opportunity to turn that around. to highlight the fact that she's the first first lady to transform herself into a credible candidate for the west wing. first woman to win her party's nomination. by getting even this far, she's made history. >> hillary, hillary! >> reporter: the question is, can she get this convention back on the rails? her hopes of winning the white house may depend on it. i'm david wright for "nightline" in charlotte, north carolina. up next, a delegate who's in it for the long haul. and why she thinks this convention is so special. if you love crab and who doesn't then seize the day already. crabfest is back at red lobster with so many kinds of crab

and the most crab dishes of the year. so dive into whatever floats your crab-loving boat. like crab lover's dream. crack open tender snow and king crab legs, and twirl creamy crab alfredo. or try the new alaska bairdi crab dinner. sweet and straight from the icy waters of alaska, you've gotta get it... to really get it. but it won't last forever, so hurry in. built a sandcastle?id? ha, no, i switched to geico and got more. more? 24/7 access online, on the phone or with the geico app. that is more. go get some mud... all that "more" has to be why they're the second-largest auto insurer. everybody likes more. mhm, i think so. geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. so guys with ed can... take viagra when they need it. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex.

do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. your blood pressure could drop to an unsafe level. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra single packs.

she's the oldest delegate here at the convention. after decades of democratic pride, she helped launch the dnc today by leading her party in the pledge of allegiance.

>> i'm here to nominate hillary clinton for president. >> reporter: at 93 years old, ruby gilliam is proudly representing the state of ohio, a delegate for the eighth time. >> i watched a lot of conventions and i thought, well, if i'm going to convention, i'm just going to have a hat made. >> reporter: she's seen 16 different presidents, even served in the navy during world war ii. and if gilliam has her way, she'll have a front-row seat to history. >> there could actually be a female candidate for president and an actual woman in the white house. >> yeah. >> what does that mean to you historically? what goes through your mind? >> i never thought i would live to see the day. >> reporter: also here today, 17-year-old delegate trevor dwyron, eligible because he'll turn 18 before election day in november. he is among the youngest at the dnc. >> i want to introduce you to the youngest delegate here. since you have the distinction of being the oldest delegate.

>> oh, my, hello. >> hi, ruby. >> i've been looking forward to meeting you. >> i'm trevor dwyron from maine, how are you? >> i'm fine. >> so great to meet you. >> reporter: although the pair may be 76 years apart, there's no age gap when it comes to their passion for politics. and she tells us she'll see us in four years. thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. as always we're online at abcnews.com and our "nightline" facebook page. good night from philadelphia.