Were Clinton, Kerry, and Biden able to turn the convention around? Click here for Michael Crowley's take on Wednesday night's speeches--and what is left for Obama to accomplish with his address. Here's a taste:
Walking into the Pepsi Center this afternoon I ran into a prominent elected official who’s also a strong Obama supporter. What did he think of the convention so far? Not much, it seemed. The Democrats’ message to date felt muddled, he said. He was looking forward to Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama “breaking through” with their respective addresses.
This muddle was partly a matter of necessity. Saluting Ted Kennedy, putting a warmer face on Michelle Obama, and granting Hillary Clinton her moment were things that simply had to be done. (Mark Warner’s dud of a keynote was simply a matter of a poor choice of speaker.) But these felt like discrete, individual tasks--not part of a grander theme meant for low-information voters. Meanwhile the endless psychodrama of the Clinton-Obama relationship was stifling the Obama camp’s ability to present a crisp message. A voter wondering whether Barack Obama really connects with the lives of ordinary Americans probably didn’t hear much to convince him on that score...
--The Editors