Notes On The Convention

We will know in a few days whether Obama got a bounce out of his convention. Gallup shows his best numbers in some time, with his approval rating over 50%. I find it surprising that, apart from the usual cast of cheerleaders, many Obama-friendly venues were underwhelmed. Here is Dana Milbank:

The Democratic National Convention was to have opened here Monday with a festival at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where, convention officials said, some 100,000 people would participate in a Labor Day festival that demonstrated the party's openness and inclusion.

After a couple of nights at the Time Warner Cable Arena, the convention was to have closed with President Obama's acceptance speech at the Bank of America Stadium, where convention officials were planning to squeeze nearly 6,000 seats onto the field to expand the stadium's capacity beyond its usual 74,000.

But the speedway event was canceled — ostensibly because of logistical problems but more likely because convention fundraising was running low. Then the Democrats canceled the stadium event in favor of the smaller arena — ostensibly because of "severe thunderstorm" concerns but more likely because they couldn't be sure enough people would come to fill the stadium.

In fact, the forecast hadn't called for severe weather, and conditions were fine Thursday night. The change caused thousands to be turned away, and the crush of crowds at the arena led authorities at one point to lock down the building for a second straight night – leaving some delegates on the street while lobbyists enjoyed the proceedings inside.

And then there is the sticky business of financing the convention. From Bloomberg:

Democrats ended their convention in Charlotte $5 million short of their budget even after being forced to draw down a $10 million line of credit from Duke Energy Corp. (DUK), according to a Democratic Party fundraiser.

The President's big speech gave a lot of Democrats a downsized feeling. Timothy Noah, writing in The New Republic, detected the odor of Cartesian malaise (that's Jimmy, not René). The Washington Post was disappointed by Mr. Obama's "hazy agenda".

He vowed, "I will never turn Medicare into a voucher," but he gave his audience no indication that his solution — controlling health care costs — might involve sacrifice on the part of seniors. He promised "responsible steps to strengthen" Social Security, which he has neglected throughout his first term. As to which steps those might be, not a word. "My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet," Mr. Obama said. What plan would that be?...

Mr. Obama sketched a tempting array of expensive benefits and changes… But he did not offer a whiff of explanation of how those programs can be paid for and the mounting national debt brought under control…

[T]he attractiveness of [his] vision made all the more frustrating Mr. Obama's refusal to fill in any substance, his once again promising hard truths that he did not deliver. "They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan," he said of the Republicans. If Mr. Obama has a plan, Americans who listened Thursday don't know how he would achieve it.

Let's summarize. The Obama Campaign planned on a big venue for Mr. Obama's speech and then cancelled it because they doubted they could fill the stadium. They lied about the reason for cancelling it. Moving to the smaller venue left thousands outside. They went $15 million into the hole. Mr. Obama's speech may not have depressed most Democrats as much as it did Mr. Noah, but the reaction seems to pale in comparison to that which resulted from Clinton's speech (Bill, that is; Hilary wasn't there). The speech was full of vision and talk about the importance of hard truths but it didn't actually include any hard truths and if Obama has any plans, he is keeping them a secret.

It's not fair to say, as the Economist has said, that Obama has given us no idea what he will do with another four years. He has told us exactly what he will do: the same as his first four years. He will acknowledge the need for fiscal responsibility and will appoint commissions and jobs councils. He will ignore the findings of the one and neglect to meet with the other. If you like that, you should vote for Mr. Obama. That is what you will get.

Comments

[Donald Pay]

You watched the convention with your goofy glasses on, or decided to simply echo your masters in the righty news. The press, which cares nothing about covering any issue in depth, is not where you should go for any description of Obama's or Romney's direction. Quoting the press gives you exactly zero credibility. It's the same elite crowd talking down about middle-class America. It and you have become utterly predictable, irrelevant and anti-American.

Meanwhile the American public, especially in swing states, are moving in Obama's direction. They seem to be looking at the race differently than the pundit class. For one, we aren't anti-American and anti-worker and anti-middle class. We see there has been some progress in the face of massive Republican treachery. We understand that issues are complicated, given a thirty year history of being on the wrong track. We know all our problems can't be solved in one speech, or one year, or one term. It would be nice if the Republicans grew up.

[larry kurtz]

News so nice I'll post it twice:

Still waiting for an RNC bounce? GOP tool, Rasmussen: Obama up by two.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tr

[joe arrigo]

"My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet," Mr. Obama said. What plan would that be?..."

That comment is disingenuous. He's been promoting and investing into alternative and clean energies for three and half years...where have you been?

His next four years will build on the many accomplishments of the first four; too numerous to list here. And yes, I will vote for him.

[Donald Pay]

If you wanted to get simple-minded enough so that everyone, even KB, can understand, the Democrats held up signs that read "Forward. Not Back." As much as progress has been painfully slow due not only to the depth of the Republican recession and their catastrophic foreign policy, but due to actually economic sabotage practiced by the Republicans in Congress, it beats returning to the Romney-Ryan prescription, the same bunch of policies that exploded the deficit and which largely caused the Great Recession. Obama has pointed a path to a better economy and a better foreign policy, one without multiple Republican wars.

[Dave]

Not sure who said it first but it is so true...

If you vote against Obama because he can't get stuff done, it's kinda like saying, "this guy can't cure cancer. I'm gonna vote for cancer."

And that makes sense, right?

[Dave]

Hmm...

The Washington Post reported, “Hoping to blunt any momentum his rival has picked up in Florida since the GOP convention, Obama opened his bus trip in the Interstate 4 corridor, which cuts through the center of the the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic, with a rally for 11,000 in St. Petersburg, not far from Tampa. Obama’s 30-minute speech closely tracked his nomination acceptance speech Thursday in Charlotte.”

11,000... Not bad...

The Virginian-Pilot had this to say about attendance at Mitt Romney’s rally, “He spoke to several hundred people who had gathered hours earlier in an aircraft hangar to hear the Republican presidential nominee.”

Several hundred(?)... Romney noted it must be a "neighborhood event"...

[duggersd]

Dave, if I were suffering from cancer and the doctor I was going to was unable to offer the treatments I needed to cure it, you can damn well bet I would look for a different doctor. This would not be a vote for cancer, it would be a vote for a doctor who I believe is more competent.
""My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet,"" um, I believe carbon pollution has decreased in spite of Obama. This is in part due to a bad economy, but also use of natural gas has changed the dynamics. In other words, the market has done this, not all of that "green" energy that has done nil.