DNC: Day 1
I’ve gotta say I was a little disappointed with the first day of the Democratic convention. Michelle Obama’s very good speech was clearly the highlight of the evening, though of course it wasn’t the outstanding caliber we’ve come to expect of her husband. It was worlds better than what most of the non-politicians on stage at these things can do. It was on a good theme, and I was happy with it.
The Ted Kennedy tribute, on the other hand, I think was a real mistake. My agreements with him are much greater than my disagreements, but he’s still not a hero to me. It’s a generational thing, and a partisanship thing, but I just don’t think his appeal is that broad. In many groups, he’s the epitome of the hated northeastern liberal. Did we really need to have a video about him and his yacht? This is not the kind of thing that could possibly attract swing voters. Now, if the goal is to get wavering older, female Democrats, then maybe it wasn’t so bad. I can see some benefit there. Honestly, though, quotes about how Obama and Kennedy will be working hand-in-hand once Obama is president are not going to help with independents. I know it’s hard. He’s a hero to most of the people in the convention center, and his health problems made his appearance inspiring to those who have been following his difficulties. Most Americans, though, haven’t been. Seeing him give a generally normal speech wasn’t that surprising to them. The Republicans are good at picking the stuff that will appeal to the audience at home rather than whatever those in the convention want to hear. That kind of message discipline is sorely lacking in the Democrats.
The rest of the night was… well, it wasn’t. Nothing got much attention. Of course, this is partly because I was watching on CNN, which chose its commentators over many of the other speeches, but that’s exactly the point. The Democrats need to put on a show compelling enough for CNN to feel like it makes better television than their repetitive talking heads. I don’t care if it’s a governor, a senator, a CEO, an Iraq veteran, or a high school teacher. They needed to find some people who know how to give a good speech and give them interesting things to say. A little bit of talk about issues, a little talk about Bush and his incompetence, a little talk about McCain and his flip-flops, etc. It doesn’t really matter exactly what it’s about as long as it’s not a brief bio of the person coming after you. (Well, it does, but anything is better than nothing.) What’s important is that it gets people’s attention. Tonight really did not succeed in that respect. Now, future nights I think will be better. A quick look down the schedule definitely shows tonight as the weak night. (Gore, Warner, and Hillary Clinton all speak tomorrow, for example.) Still, it’s one opportunity that was largely missed.