So the consensus seems to be that the Dems should have hit McCain harder last night. I have no idea, frankly. I'd like to see some hard reporting and research on why and how conventions work for the broader voting body. Anything else is conjecture. I don't know what to make of Mark Warner not attacking McCain, except that I agree that that's never been his forte. I did think Michelle killed. But she doesn't have to convince me, so I don't know what that means either. I don't know whether the need to attack was more important than the moment with the kids. Guess I'm not helping much here, huh guys?
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Getting Michelle Obama on stage for an inspirational, feel good speech was not a waste. For plenty of people, this is their first time seeing her give a 20 minute speech all the way through, and she was pitch perfect. My Hillary supporting, mostly tuned out of politics (you might say "low information") coworker loved it.
Give them a night to be warm and fuzzy, and then bring the big guns.
Given the theme of the night: ONE NATION, it seems that it was appropriate to not spend the night attacking one of the members of that nation. Or Democrats are weak kneed punks, take your pick.
Hey, I feel you on the convincing front. Then again, I'm a Black libertarian. I'm used to being disappointed, esp. when my views are virtually ignored by the world. :)
Remember your comment previously about not trusting the MSM? Yeah, here is a perfect example of it...
First they spend lots of time talking about Michelle Obama's negative comments, they talk about the Obama's exotic vacation to HI, they talk up tenuous connections and are complicit in smears by association. They do this to the first AA candidate and react incredulously to criticism of it.
Second, the Obama's play a pitch perfect opening night introducing themselves to the electorate and countering the smears and outright lies that have been spread and given voice in the MSM, only to have the event described as a missed opportunity to attack McMansions... OK
Did they watch the other speakers? Pelosi? Lots of McMansions is WRONG on x, WRONG on y... Seriously did they expect Michelle to come out swinging against McMansions? Taking strong policy positions and Attack! Attack! Attack!?
The Obama's are 100% right not to trust the media, they need to do their best in dealing with them but focus on the grassroots etc.
The MSM are disgusting in their lazy attachment to narrative and gotcha politics. Its hard to penetrate because its so pervasive.
What Keith said.
We were told, what, a week, two weeks ago what the themes for each night would be; and now folks who've built careers and reputations on their allegedly being more on top of all this than the rest of us act all surprised that last night's prime-time theme was, um, ONE NATION.
I don't get it. I can accept their disagreeing with that choice, but it's hard to understand these folks' acting as though they hadn't been told what they would be hearing.
@TDE: That's what I was thinking this morning. I mean, even the asshats at the National Review were praising Michelle's speech, and then I wake up and discover that the goalposts have moved again: Oh, there should have been more attacks on McCain; the night was a wash.
What. The fuck. Ever. I tend to agree with this post from Andrew.
I mean, seriously, how many "undecided" voters watched any of the speeches except Michelle Obama and her brother? Michelle Obama's speech couldn't have gone any better. They have three more days to trash McCain. Last night was important.
I felt like the tone of the night was absolutely the right one to take. First, with Caroline and Teddy working together to create a moment that few Democrats could argue with, and then essentially passing the Kennedy torch to Obama. Then, with Michelle successfully defusing (IMHO) all of the "we don't know who he is" crap by showing them to be a very traditional, American Dream, loving, devoted, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, meritocratous family.
Anyone who thinks that Obama is a sexist, or that Michelle is a Marxist / Black Panther, or that the are just too out there to vote for after watching last night is hardened against the Obamas that nothing will ever pursuade them.
This is how campaigns work. First you get your troops in one place. Then you feed them well. Then you give speeches. Then you go where the enemy is.
Then you attack. Experience shows us that changing the order of these events results in failure.
One example:
St. Crispen's Day Speech
Shakespeare's HENRY V
C. 1599
If only Mr. Coates had some sort of... spokesman... who could tell him, and us, what he was supposed to think about the events last night. Oh Billy Dee, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you...
The attack dogs are scheduled tonight, last night was to showcase the family both the Kennedy family and the Obama family.
Those who want to see blood in the water can watch tonight and Wednesday.
Pundits are complete tools. This past weekend they kept harking on Biden 'undermining' the Obama brand of hope,change, and post-partisan, but they get crabby because the first night of Obama's convention is full of hope, change, and post-partisan.
It was a wash because it didn't give them anything to go run and tell McCain. The MSM is the biggest instigator ever.
In the realm of the reasonable and reality-based, yes, I think Michele Obama gave a killer speech. She comes across as an earthy and accessible person when her words are not being spun out of context. She speaks about things a lot of moms in this country relate to.
What the Obamas (both of them) get so well is emotional content. Emotional content wins you more votes that getting into a punching contest on a political level.
And I think this is PRECISELY the unspoken strategy the Obama camp has for reaching out to voters who are "uncomfortable" with Obama (i.e. because he's black and named Hussein and lived in Indonesia and Hawaii!). Show him with his kids and his family as much as possible. Talk a lot about family values. Because prejudice is not something you can argue away no matter how right are in challenging it head-on. You have to work a different angle on it.
Seriously, Sasha and Malia probably swung more votes to Obama last night than any policy-based ad could have. They're awfully cute kids.
There is a certain level of damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't that just goes with being a Democratic candidate. So there will always be some who find some fault with Michele's speech (i.e. not sharing more humanizing details about Barack to make him seem less like "the one" ... however if she did that she'd be blamed for coming off like a pushy wife and we'd hear the airhead pundits go on about how "controversial" Michele is blah blah blah).
She did great.
And she looked great too. I do love Michele's style, she's always so tastefully dressed.
TDE:
Last night was fine. The rest of the convention needs to be spent tearing the bark off McCain. Most people really don't know McCain. And what they do know of him is his Vietnam War/POW stuff. He's a wingnut Republican, who will indeed be four(or eight) more years of Bush, especially foreign policy. Need I remind you that McCain was Bill "William the Bloody" Kristol's first choice in 2000? And that was despite the Jebster being part of PNAC. Lastly, you can't play nice with a bully. You have to knee the SOB in the nuts when you get the chance.
The MSM are disgusting in their lazy attachment to narrative and gotcha politics. Its hard to penetrate because its so pervasive.
Right on TDE. I'm so bored with the same ol, same ol. Negative ads, 2 yr old attention spans, stoners work ethic and wannabe celebrity complexes on "journalists" (see Ambinder's me, me, oh look at me on Katie Couric).
Carville is working for the Clintons 2012 ticket, he led and drove this no red meat charge on CNN which filtered down to all the other lazy asses. It's like listening to Rove or Penn, the guy is a loud train wreck. I don't know why people still listen.
Personally, I was moved forcefully by Teddy and Michelle. The MSN and the RNC has positioned that being inspirational or inspired is a negative emotion that lacks substance. I call BS, the past 8 yrs have been the most uninspired in recent memory and look where it got us. We need to be inspired again in order for this to work.
And speaking of celebrities, does anyone know how many times John McCain has appeared on the Tonight Show since Jay Leno became host? 13!! The other celebrities to appear on Leno as many times: Pamela Anderson, Dr. Phil, Larry the Cable Guy, Simon Cowell, Jennifer Love Hewitt. The Terminator has appeared on Leno twelve times. McCain is out there with those stupid celebrity ads, yet Obama has appeared on Leno once. Who is the bigger celebrity? That's why you need to tear the bark off McCain. How many people know that he's appeared on Leno thirteen times?
The Democrats still have three nights to define their message and define John McCain. A large portion of the electorate still wants to know more about what kind of man Barack Obama is, what makes him tick, whether he and his family are like the rest of Americans.
Michelle Obama's speech did a wonderful job to address those issues.
I agree with the general tenor here:
Obama needs to soothe and attack - soothe inside the Dem party and outside with the undecided voters, and then attack McCain, in that order.
Unfairly, due to racism and sexism, Michelle Obama needs to soothe and soothe and only soothe. This can enable a certain kind of critique of McCain down the road - not a frontal assault, but a bonding through sympathy and suffering that becomes opposition (see Elizabeth Edwards).
Michelle (defuse attacks against the Obamas) and Teddy K (win one for the legacy) did their jobs splendidly last night. The pressure is now on Hillary Clinton to be a warrior for the party, and I think she will come through. It is her job tonight to attack McCain, and by doing so she will 1) make it clear that any supporter of hers could never vote for McCain, and 2) she can take McCain down a few notches.
I think Clinton will come through, and I think this strategic line-up will be vindicated. We will know better tonight . . . but even if Hillary implodes and the Obama campaign fails to take down McCain, I still the right strategic choice was made to keep Michelle's day at the convention clean and wholesome.
Michelle and Teddy K will get re-played and referenced for the sake of sympathy and party unity, but the rest of the speeches from yesterday never had a prayer of mattering.
Sort of fascinating that according to the 'professionals' the most important thing politicians should be doing constantly is "attacking" or "going negative". What ever happened to leadership? I think people should read Pericles funeral oration to the Athenians...it's an entire speech about what it means to live in a democracy...not 'attack' in a democracy...
You're absolutely right to keep pushing the need for more data and true reporting and less conjecture masking itself as "analysis".
Neither myself, nor nearly anyone I know, has an objective perspective here, but everyone I've heard thought it was amazing.
I'm surprised some feel the Democrats wasted an opportunity to attack last night. Michelle Obama needed to dispel some myths and essentially introduce herself to voters who are just now paying attention.
The necessary attacks begin in earnest tonight because Hillary knows how to do it and her biggest argument is "If you supported me, there is absolutely no way you can support McCain." She isn't going to push Obama so much as chew on McCain and spit him out. She will give the rousing attack people want. Then, the next night, Bill will talk of his successes and compare them to Bush and tie McCain to Bush as tight as he can be tied. It won't be rope a dope. It will be smash mouth.
Day 1: The Obamas are just like you.
Day 2: Hillary "hearts" Obama
Day 3: Tear Johnny Mac a new one
Day 4: OBAMA!!
if obama carries virgina, in part, because he made warner the keynote speaker, then giving warner the slot will be seen as a brilliant move.
if they lose virginia and the election, putting warner in that spot will be seen as one of the biggest blunders of the campaign.
it is crucial that they start the process of tenderizing their opponent.
they need to start beating on mccain like he's a rented mule. warner is not that kind of politician and one cannot expect him to change his spots now.
but everyone else has to pick up their stick and start knocking mccain around in the same way that mccain has been beating on obama.
dems need to start learning some message discipline and focus on one simple message that is designed to take mccain apart, subtly and not so subtly.
it's the economy, stupid...
I think Peter N has the format down.
However, I also think the complaints from those who want red meat, and the moaning from the media analyzing right over the speeches, stem from this belief that the convention should be entertaining. They have short memories. Political conventions are not entertaining--they're spectacles that keep you in the news, giving your party perhaps a bit of a bump in the polls, though even that is ephemeral. They generate some local color stories about funny hats. A few moments will be replayed. I remember a few conventions, and those memories are not tinged with "it was so exciting when X happened!!"
Okay, on the part of the news channels it may be that their memories are fine but they really need something to report, and they'll keep reinterviewing the 18 pumas until Bill tosses them something.
I'm not so sure the Clinton's are going to do the right thing this week. Everyone is saying relax, everything is great, they are going to take care of business....but the vast majority of their surrogates like Begala and Carville are doing their best to sow discontent under the guise of "analyst".
My gut bet says Hillary's speech will be very close to her speech the night Obama claimed victory in the primary and Bill is gonna praise McCain again like he did last week.
There was no way they could've attacked last night...make Michelle and Ted the attack dogs?? What a stupid idea.
Michelle's image is still being formed, people are still making up their minds about her...and many people do dislike her, but I also think that their minds can be changed. But she's been defined as 'angry', and so how could you possibly have made her role to attack McCain? It doesn't even make any kind of sense. Carville is definitely working for the other side, and MSM are a bunch of jackasses. Jon Stewart was right for taking them to task.
Also, I know it isn't what this blog is about...but the color of Michelle's dress...brilliant. You have to know and love fashion to even think of wearing that color.
The Clintons are smarter than we're giving them credit for. Here's my theory about Hillary's plan for the convention:
Day 1: Working through surrogates, encourage the notion that Obama's campaign is too soft.
Day 2: When she takes the stage tonight, Hillary will be at the top of her game, and she will bludgeon McCain. The effects of her speech will be threefold: A) Hillary's iron-jawed rhetoric will remind her supporters why they adored her in the first place; B) Hillary will appear to be tougher than Obama, since the media will compare Hillary's fiery talk to Barack's cooler approach; C) Hillary will achieve the two things she must do tonight -- first she'll appear to help Obama by lashing into McCain/Bush, and second she'll succeed in making Obama appear weaker than she is.
It's all about 2012 for her, right??
Michelle Obama could NOT have been used to attack McCain. She would FOREVER be labeled the ' Angry Black Woman'. HELL NO...she did the right thing. Gave the great speech. Leave it alone.
The sad thing is that Michelle's speech wasn't given more than an hour of media oxygen before the new meme was "They weren't attacking McCain enough."
Not that the press would be complicit with a new negative story that over rides the positive story before it gets legs *cough cough* but there certainly does seem to be a growing pattern.
The Obama campaign discussed their strategy in Iowa pre-caucus: Iowa voters are getting a chance to check out this Mr. Obama, kicking the tires, looking under the hood, and, when the get the chance to do that, they like what they see. There are worse things to do than to try to repeat success.
One of the things that is winning about the Obamas is their own confidence in themselves. And one of the things that was losing about Kerry or Gore was the sense that they were always worrying about how their next step might impact their chances (duck hunting?).
About the MSM meme: does it do more harm to Obama by convincing people he's not attacking enough? or does it harm McCain by convincing the McCain campaign that Obama's not attacking enough?