Now that both major party conventions are over, it's time for a bit of reflection on how they did. Nowadays a convention rarely chooses the party's nominee. That is what the grueling primary process is for, and it usually does its job of winnowing things down to one candidate who will bear the standard.
There are two true purposes of the modern convention, one internal and the other external. The internal purpose is to excite and energize delegates from all over the country to go back home and work hard for the party in the campaign. The external purpose is to showcase the party's members, views, leadership, and most of all its presidential and vice presidential candidates in the most favorable light possible for the nation's voters. And in this most crucial contest there can be no doubt the Democrats at their convention gave President Obama a huge boost going forward into the home stretch of the campaign.
The Republican Convention in Tampa was certainly presentable, but it wasn't electrifying. When it was all over, Mitt Romney got a one percent "bounce" in the polls. Keynote Speaker New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was flat. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, speaking to introduce Governor Romney's acceptance speech, impressed me as an excellent speaker, the best I saw in the GOP fold. Both, however, unfortunately talked more about themselves than their party's nominee. It seemed more they were positioning themselves for 2016 than addressing themselves wholeheartedly to the full-throated support of the 2012 ticket. Vice Presidential pick Paul Ryan came across as a regular guy, but his remarks included so many factual inaccuracies they became the focus of the coverage. Prospective first lady Ann Romney did a good job with a weak speech. See for yourself. Clint Eastwood embarrassed himself and the party with a rambling conversation with an empty chair meant to symbolize President Obama. It derailed things right before the nominee himself took the floor. Finally came Mitt Romney himself. I felt he gave the best delivery of a speech I have even seen from him. That means it was average. See Romney's speech here. It was not memorable, however, and included, like most of the other speakers' remarks, hardly anything of firm substance that he would do as president. He made quick reference to a 5-point plan for the country in about fifteen seconds, then went back to generalities.
The Democratic Convention in Charlotte was, in the eyes of most longtime observers, the best in memory. The clearest evidence for this is President Obama polling a post-convention seven percent bump in his approval rating. Michelle Obama easily out duelled her counterpart talking about her man in her First Lady speech. Bill Clinton gave what was likely the strongest address in either convention, taking on virtually every Republican objection to Obama's outlook and policies in impressive fashion. He made the kinds of defenses of Democratic policies the Obama administration has been largely fumbling with during most of its tenure. This was followed on the final night by Obama's acceptance speech, one of his customary stem winders that had the audience in tears and on its feet throughout. It definitely helped the Democrats to go second, as they had clearly tailored their remarks to rebut earlier GOP points and pounce on Republican missteps. Obama came off as confident yet caring, immersed in policy yet still imbued with the optimism and idealism that launched his election four years ago.
This time it was the Democrats who put their social issues (gay rights, immigration, women's issues) front and center while the Republicans tried to avoid discussing them. This time it was the Democrats who were on top of foreign policy while their rivals scarcely brought it up. Obama gave detailed solutions while Romney avoided specifics altogether. There are still eight weeks left in the campaign and a lot can happen. But the strong edge the Democrats gained in the Battle of the Conventions puts Obama in the driver seat at this point. To win, Team Romney will have to come from behind to make up a good deal of lost ground.
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