S.C.'s Sanford gets convention gig

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has landed a speaking role at the
Republican National Convention.

The AP reports:

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said Friday that Sanford will speak Monday evening in Minneapolis-St. Paul on behalf of the Republican Governors Association.

The move could placate conservatives that advanced him as a running mate for Arizona Sen. John McCain. Sanford never appeared to be a serious candidate.

Sanford and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour teamed up to set a $10.6 million fundraising record for the Republican Governors Association's annual dinner to help elect GOP governors.

Sanford's exclusion from a speaking gig at the convention had irked conservatives, including those at the Club for Growth who believed the second-term governor was a good pick for vice president.

Sarah Palin - the reaction

What politicos, pundits and others are saying and writing about John McCain's vice presidential pick:

Mike Huckabee (via MSNBC.com)

"Governor Palin is smart, authentic, tough, and a dynamic choice that will remind women that if they are not welcome on the Democrat's ticket, they have a place with Republicans."

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt:

"First reaction is surprise because I've never heard of the woman. With all the fuss they've made about a person needing experience, I don't see how they would consider she fits that bill."

"I don't see anything else that she brings to the ticket other than the political dynamic of being a woman."

David Brody, Christian Broadcasting Network:

"Sarah Palin clearly addresses the issues so many conservatives are concerned about. It balances out the ticket."

Marc Ambinder, Atlantic Monthly:

"I get the sense that John McCain' age is now fair game for Democrats. Democrats feel that McCain's Palin pick has given them the green light to use phrases like "a heartbeat away" in their press releases and reactions."

Mark Levin, the National Review:

"From a purely tactical aspect, Palin would knock the legs out from under Obama's monopoly hold on "change." And attacks on her "inexperience" will only highlight one of Obama's greatest vulnerabilities — and he's at the top of the Democrat ticket."

Greg Sargent, Talking Points Memo

"By any reasonable measure, the choice of someone as back-up commander-in-chief who has two years of experience running a small-population state should render McCain's primary campaign argument -- that Obama's alleged lack of commander-in-chief readiness is too risky in a dangerous world -- not just moot, but a running joke among political reporters and pundits alike."

Greg Mueller, Republican Strategist

“Conservatives will be thrilled with this pick. Governor Palin is a down the line mainstream conservative who will energize the base and reach across party lines attracting women voters, independents and blue collar Democrats. With almost one fourth of women voters undecided, Senator McCain has made a brilliant choice by picking a blue collar conservative woman who will excite the Republican Party and lay out the welcome mat for independents and disaffected Clinton voters."

Jehmu Greene, Political Director, Women Count

"If McCain thinks we will fall in line simply because he picked a woman - we will give him our own surprise. We know that Senator Clinton's supporters didn't just vote for her because she was a woman - they voted for her because she was a qualified woman who was with them on the issues."

Pat McCrory, Charlotte mayor and Republican candidate for N.C. governor (via the Observer's David Ingram)

"I think Gov. Sarah Palin, a former mayor with a background of cleaning up state government, is a great choice for vice president. She is someone with a real record of changing the status quo and challenging corruption in state government."

Howard Wolfson, communications director for Hillary Clinton 2008 (via The New Republic):

"You are going to have a lot of women voters wondering why Senator Obama didn't tap Senator Clinton as his running mate."

"Oh my!": A Clinton supporter in Charlotte on Palin

Leigh Rose was a Charlotte community volunteer for the Hillary Clinton campaign, working in communications during the N.C. primary season. She was thrilled when her 9-year-old daughter met Clinton during a campaign stop here. She thought Hillary was "the one."

Rose has, slowly, come to support what she calls "the greater good" of having Barack Obama as president, a choice she became excited about this week after watching Clinton speak in Denver.

This morning, she emailed me about John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as VP.

"Oh my oh my!"

Later, after some time to process, here are her thoughts. One woman, one Democrat, in Charlotte:

"My initial knee jerk reaction was one of being a woman, I felt my womanliness, it was a raw deep internal connection, it was a split-second emotional one, he picked a woman, he is giving a woman a chance to be VP and she could be a future commander in chief, BUT...

My foot landed firmly on the floor moments later. The freedoms and rights I want
as a woman are matched by the Democratic ticket, that clearly the policies I am fighting for, that we are all fighting for as women - a woman's right to choose, Roe v Wade, equal pay for women in the workplace, universal healthcare, family and education needs - are placed purposefully on the Democrat's agenda. Period.

I will not be swayed by McCain's pick of a woman VP, I will not be lured into what is a calculated political move, that ultimately does little to move women's issues forward. Women on the whole are much smarter than that, and Hillary supporters, I think, will see thru this. The diehards are another story, but I think they will vote for McCain anyway.

What an interesting race for the White House this will be."

What do you think? To women out there - what does Palin's gender mean to your vote?

"Sarah Barracuda"

We'll be learning a lot - and quickly - about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the presumed Republican VP nominee. A place to begin: This two-part 2006 story from the Anchorage Daily News shows Palin as disarmingly charming but with a predatory instinct - and willing to go a different route than her party colleagues. Plus, she likes basketball.

Barack Obama, the letter grade

Our personal political professor breaks with many in his review of last night's speech.

Allan Louden, political communication professor at Wake Forest, has been analyzing the major speeches at the Democratic Convention each day. Today, the popular professor looks at the last speech of the week - from the nominee.

Says Louden:

I switch channels for the last time, reluctant to leave the Deacons game in Waco, Texas, for another football stadium in Mile High City. Wake Forest firmly in control helped, and the draw to see if Obama would soar in Denver soon had my attention.

It is remarkable how expectations inform one’s interpretation. The millions who have viewed Obama’s "race speech,” or his address following the Iowa caucus on YouTube, had the right to anticipate a knockout punch. For those who only know a Britney Spears celebrity ad, anything more than an empty suit would astonish.

Obama’s acceptance was not a barn burner speech and it didn’t soar. The chills that went down ones back were reserved more for the moment, a black man commanding political respect in ways unimaginable for older audience members.

Obama’s speech was about the business at hand; nary a tear shed. The pathos invoked identification with the disaffected and was designed more to make you mad - mad at being ignored, mad about going unrecognized, mad about being ripped off by false promises.

In the end, the address was more political than transcendent. And I’m of mixed mind about that choice. The tone itself refuted charges of celebrity but muted Obama’s best weapon.

I missed Obama’s defending the power of words, the nature of leadership, but I expect rhetoricians have their own hot buttons.

The national audience witnessed a policy speech. Depending on how you count, there were between fifteen and twenty specific policy actions advanced, reminiscent of the form of a State of the Union address.

Collectively these proposals weaved into a Covenant-between-Americans — “Now is the time.”
Said Obama: “It’s a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect."

Obama the Definer

The ability to define is the ability to determine the essential qualities or meaning of the world we inhabit. In a myriad of ways, Obama assumed the mantle of “Definer-in-Chief.”

Presidents and candidates in important ways define “the people,” the nature of nation and citizenship. Obama did not shy away from characterizing America. He called citizens to their better angles, at once complimenting and demanding. He invited, “America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.”

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for 20 years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Defining McCain

“Feisty” captures Obama’s tone. He took the battle to McCain, differentiating: “Now, I don’t believe that Sen. McCain doesn’t care what’s going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn’t know.”

Next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives — on health care and education and the economy — Sen. McCain has been anything but independent.

Defining Politics/Patriotism

Obama sought to legitimize his lens for understanding the campaign, both as recrimination about the campaign tone and inoculation for what was yet to unfold. Pointedly, he accused McCain, “You make a big election about small things.”

Citing his grandfather, mother, sister, and lives lived by real people, he invoked “I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes.”

On the question of patriotism, he was even more pointed in defining what is out of bounds.

What I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America — they have served the United States of America.

So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

Defining the Definer

The acceptance address, an event traditionally thought of as introducing oneself to the country, was remarkably not about Barack Obama. Certainly, by inference, it was all about Obama - for every Sinner (Bush/McCain) there is a Savior (Obama) - but rarely did Obama sing his own song.

I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you.

An Aside: The post-speech closing looked and felt a lot like the closing ceremonies of the Olympics; scored as a musical, paraded as pageant. It is likely my sensibilities, but it felt over the top, more like a movie than civic engagement. For others the closing was simply “inspirational.”

Paralleling Mark Halperin from Time Magazine this week finally leads to a difference. Halperin gave Obama an ‘A+” concluding: “Obama appeared to achieve every goal the pundits and political backseat drivers had set out for him in advance: he showed his heart, emphasized the economy and, most of all, looked like a president.” Yes, but the hearts reached were more those of partisans, success measured politically more than transforming the electorate. I had expected more . . .

Grade: B+

Did the Dems succeed? A quick math lesson

John Kerry won almost 90 percent of the Democratic vote in his narrow loss to George Bush in 2004. Barack Obama has had difficulty getting past 80 percent with the home crowd in polls thus far. If he can get Kerry's numbers in November, he likely will win this election.

The Obama camp knows his. Their candidate has advantages Kerry did not. In this economy, with this war, any Democrat running for president would pluck more independents and Republicans. Democrats, unlike Republicans, are gaining numbers across the country in voter registration. In the primaries, they turned out in record numbers.

And yet, about half of them - that famous 18 million - did not vote for Barack Obama. 

They are what this week was about. On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton told her supporters - this time believably - that it was OK to vote for the Democrat in November. On Wednesday, Bill Clinton summarized in forceful detail all the reasons they needed their party. Last night, finally, was the altar call. 

It was time, Obama said, to line up with him. In return, he gave Democrats what Democrats wanted - from paying tribute to both Clintons in the first minute, to admonishing McCain that all Americans put their country first (always the Democrats' insecurity), to the step that few Democrats have taken in recent years, a cocky challenge to debate the Republican on national security temperment and judgment.

Conventions have historically been a celebration of your own ideas. This week, Obama needed to convince his party of more. 

Did he succeed?

Tell us what you think here or in the forum section of our new Politics page.

Your morning buzz:

Republicans are considering delaying their convention - scheduled to begin Monday - because of a hurricane-to-be expected to hit the Gulf coast, the Washington Post writes. 

Obama gave two speeches - one old and one new - Politico's John Harris and Jim Vandehei write. 

Time's Joe Klien says Obama's speech was very tough - and needed to be. 

Maybe this next one just appeals to the wordy among us - Time's Jay Newton-Small dissects how Obama writes his speeches. 

On the John McCain plane: lots of VP suspense, not much else, writes Newsweek's Andrew Romano.

$22 for a bacon and eggs? A 2006 ethics law dogs N.C. legislators in Denver, the Observer's Jim Morrill writes. 

McCain's cease fire: "Tonight, Senator, job well done."

John McCain's new ad, titled "Convention Night," congratulates Barack Obama. "This is truly a good day for America," McCain says.







The ad, to run tonight, is simple - just McCain talking to the camera. "How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day," he says, acknowledging the 45-year anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

"Tomorrow we'll be back at it," McCain says. "But tonight, Senator, job well done."

The ad will run on national cable, an outstretched hand just as Obama is tasked with drawing distinctions between himself and his opponent.

S.C. GOP ad leaps to McCain's defense

The S.C. GOP is offering the bluntest answer yet to the question of how many houses John McCain owns: For five years, his "home" was in Vietnam, as a prisoner of war.

S.C. GOP official Rob Godfrey tells us this ad will air in Minneapolis-St. Paul beginning tomorrow through the Republican Convention.






Amid shots of empty POW cells, a narrator informs: "This is where John McCain was starved, beaten, tortured, and maimed for life. So the next time Barack Obama talks about one of John McCain's homes, remember this one."

This is the starkest visual defense yet on the "houses" issue, and it clearly follows the lead of the McCain campaign, which initially tried to deflect the houses criticism by citing McCain's time as a POW.

This morning, in an interview with Pittsburgh radio station KDKA, McCain was asked about criticism that he is out of touch with voters on kitchen table issues.

"I know what it's like not to have a kitchen table," McCain said. "I know what it's like not to have a table or a chair. For five and a half years, I sat in a ... in a cell with nothing but concrete floor and three boards to sleep on."

The columns at Invesco Field: Too much?

Um, forget about the speech. What about the backdrop? That's what the GOP - and blogosphere - have been chattering about yesterday and this morning.

The "issue": Obama's acceptance speech tonight will be framed by elaborate Greek columns, a clumsy choreographic decision given the GOP's readiness to pounce on any sign of Obama's haughtiness.

True, the Obama camp is in a bit of a corner here. It would like to cast its candidate as statesmanlike, with the gravitas to lead and all that. But one step too far and you get ... this.

Dems have been quick to note what Politico's Ben Smith dug up from the archives yesterday - that George Bush accepted the 2004 Republican nomination with columns rising up behind him in similar neoclassical glory.

Tell us what you think of the columns.

Joe Biden (and Bill Clinton), pass or fail?

Our personal political professor, Wake Forest's Allan Louden, was busy last night, watching and grading VP nominee Joe Biden - and before that, former President Bill Clinton.

Louden is a professor of political communication who has developed a following here at The Ballot. He's offering his analysis of major convention speeches this week and next.

How'd the VP and former president do? First, the text to Biden's speech.

The professor says:

Joe Biden was exactly as billed--the everyman, the common man.

His speech had two stanzas, one which charmed, and one which dulled the senses. In common parlance, it was the tale of two speeches.

Biden’s first speech included his story of family, his roots, his values; inherently human, Biden was emotional, nearly tearful in describing his family’s pride, sitting with his recovering child as young, grieving father.

“Beau, I love you. I am so proud of you. Proud of the son you are. Proud of the father you've become.”

Beau, Biden’s introducer, son, and Delaware’s Attorney General, received an embrace from dad, camera’s cutting away to Michelle Obama and others daubing tears. And all was right, the natural enactment of Biden’s life story.

Anyone would identify with the life lessons taught by Biden’s 90-year-old Mom, Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan, beaming from the gallery:

Failure at some point in everyone's life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable. As a child I stuttered, and she lovingly told me it was because I was so bright I couldn't get the thoughts out quickly enough. When I was not as well dressed as others, she told me how handsome she thought I was. When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, she sent me back out and demanded that I bloody their nose so I could walk down that street the next day.

After the accident, she told me, "Joey, God sends no cross you cannot bear." And when I triumphed, she was quick to remind me it was because of others.

My mother's creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. You are everyone's equal, and everyone is equal to you.

Blue Collar Biden

Biden’s speech was most powerful when he connected with ordinary folks, expressing their expectations and fears, in a manner reliable and accessible. He was selected as running mate, in part, to bring back the disaffected Democrat-- a blue collar appeal--and on that he delivered.

Almost every night, I take the train home to Wilmington, sometimes very late. As I look out the window at the homes we pass, I can almost hear what they're talking about at the kitchen table after they put the kids to bed.

Like millions of Americans, they're asking questions as profound as they are ordinary. Questions they never thought they would have to ask: Should mom move in with us now that dad is gone? . . . Another year and no raise? Did you hear the company may be cutting our health care? . . .

. . . These are not isolated discussions among families down on their luck. These are common stories among middle-class people who worked hard and played by the rules on the promise that their tomorrows would be better than their yesterdays.

That promise is the bedrock of America. It defines who we are as a people. And now it's in jeopardy. I know it. You know it. But John McCain doesn't get it.

It’s Political

In the latter half of the address, Biden adopted the attack dog mode, a role often consigned to the vice presidential candidate, defining McCain’s subscription to a flawed vision. The laundry list of issues likely inspired the hall, preaching to the choir. And for the uninitiated in the television audience ,the contrasts may have been new, but are there really many innocents left?

For this listener, the latter part of Biden’s address failed to elevate.

My reservation is not in terms of words or pacing or passion, it has more to do with being just a politician; sounding like a politician, acting like a politician, catering like a politician. In part the hollow ring seemed linked to a speech too long, and too predictable.

A long progression of speakers already made the same points, politicians all. The person a heart beat away should be apart from the standard.

Post-Speech Visuals

Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the stage following the VP speech, asking acclamation from the assembled, an endorsement of his judgment in selecting Biden. It felt a bit odd, as if he stepped on his VP’s moment. And the moment was cheapened by an appeal to blunt criticism of his “football stadium” acceptance speech.

He looked young next to Biden, but perhaps it was not the midnight appearance that mattered. Most of the nation’s newspapers lead this morning with a smiling (or in the Charlotte Observer, hugging) Obama/Biden photo proclaiming the historic moment.

I have, unexpectedly, been paralleling Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin speech grades. He awarded Biden an “A-" concluding “Biden came across as a classic American family man, a dedicated public servant, a wise counselor and a zealous surrogate.” True, but there was that second speech . . .

Grade: B+

-

Bill Clinton

The other evening headliner was former President Bill Clinton. Clinton delivered, giving his personal blessing, blunting GOP criticism that Obama is not ready to lead. In a sense, he was answering the argument from Hillary’s 3 AM television spot in Texas, asking if Obama was ready to be commander and chief.

Clinton allowed no equivocation for those parsing his message.

Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United States.

Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.

Grade: A-

The choice Obama faces tonight

Suddenly, Barack Obama has the convention he wanted. How will his acceptance speech define it?

Some Democrats want him to take the frame of platform basics the Clintons built on Tuesday and Wednesday night and fill it with details. His economic plan. His middle-class tax cuts. The substance many Americans believe they haven't heard from him. 

Some say no, that this historic moment needs to be filled, that Obama must leave his audience with the soaring message that delivered him to this stage. Anything less would be a letdown - and a political blunder. History doesn't remember speeches that center around $3,000 tax savings. 

Some would simply like him to give John McCain a whole lot of what McCain has fired his way the past month. 

We will get some of each, of course. Most everything Obama says is cast as part of a larger purpose; the professor in him can't help it. But you should expect him to go heavy on the details tonight. Americans want to see what's behind the curtain with the Democratic nominee, and they want to know what's in it for them. It's good offense, and defense, to provide that. 

Your morning buzz:

The Observer's Jim Morrill talks to a young Gastonia woman who understands the significance of Obama's nomination. 

Raleigh's Rob Christensen writes that Obama's nomination will unite generations of blacks. 

Another Bill Clinton comeback, this one accomplished by giving Obama what only Clinton could give, writes David Maraniss of the Washington Post.

Joe Biden's speech may mark a new, more aggressive turn in the campaign for Obama, writes John Broder of the New York Times.

We know that John McCain has made his VP pick. We don't know who it is. But Politio's Jonathan Martin writes that Karl Rove told Joe Leiberman to bow out. 

Newsweek's Michael Hirsch wonders: How would VP Biden compare to VP Cheney?

Obama, with help from Clinton, is the nominee

Hillary Clinton propelled Barack Obama toward the Democratic nomination this afternoon, ending the roll call of delegate votes with a motion to the convention to accept her rival as the nominee.

Clinton, representing the state of New York at the roll call, said: "Let's declare together in one voice, right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate, and he will be our candidate."

The motion passed.

To shouts of "no," Hillary releases delegates

In a bittersweet gathering, Sen. Hillary Clinton this afternoon formally released her convention delegates, even though most had already voted for her.

The Observer's Jim Morrill reports from Denver:

Clinton spoke to more than 2,000 people, mostly delegates, at the Colorado Convention Center. She urged them to vote for their party in November, but she rarely invoked the name Barack Obama.

Clinton delegates have had an uneasy truce with Obama’s campaign. Some worried their votes for her would not be counted tonight.

“We’ve been cooperating and discussing how to have a unified convention with the Obama campaign,” Clinton said. “And I think we’re off to a real good start.”

When Clinton walked to the podium at around 1:50 p.m. local time, she was met with chants of “Hill-a-ry, Hill-a-ry.”

“We love you Hillary,” some shouted.

When she announced her intention to release delegates to vote the way they pleased, she was met with shouts of “No!”

Frequently interrupted by cheers, she told delegates she signed her ballot for Obama this morning. Most delegates voted at their state delegation breakfasts.

“It was almost like a goodbye but not a goodbye,” said delegate Barbara Sharpe of Concord. “My thing is, I think Obama can be a good president. The difference is, I know Hillary Clinton would be a good president.”

Clinton delegate Marc Friedland of Charlotte said party unity is up to Obama.

“Any disunity that might be there is on the shoulders of Barack Obama,” he said. But, he added, he’ll still vote Democratic in November.

“You don’t always get the leader you want,” he said, “but you get the party you want.”

McCrory stays close in N.C. Gov. poll

Pat McCrory trails Bev Perdue by five points in the latest survey from Raleigh's Public Policy Polling, a result the pollster says should concern Perdue.

Democrat Perdue leads Republican Pat McCrory, 43-38 percent.

“Although the polls are mostly unchanged, this is not a particularly good result for BevPerdue,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, in a release today. “Given the amount of money that’s been spent on her behalf by the Alliance for North Carolina attacking Pat McCrory, there was a real opportunity to break the race open this month that’s now passed.”

Debnam says the Governor’s race has remained relatively static across all polling in August. In addition to PPP, Rasmussen, SurveyUSA, and Civitas all surveyed the Governor’s race in both July and August and on average Bev Perdue has gained half a point.

Democrats lead open seat races for Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, and Insurance Commissioner. Walter Dalton is up three points on Robert Pittenger, Janet Cowell has a two-point edge against Bill Daughtridge, and Wayne Goodwin leads John Odom by a single point.

PPP surveyed 904 likely voters from August 20th to 23rd. The survey’s margin of error is
+/-3.3 percent.

He might not be baaaaack

Arnold Schwarzenegger might be a no-show at next week's Republican Convention, the Associated Press is reporting.

The California governor is vowing to remain in the state if legislators there can't reach an agreement on a budget that's already two months overdue.

His presence in St. Paul next week matters to Republicans, who would like to match the star power (without the drama) of this week's Democratic Convention speakers. Also, Schwarzenegger appeals to the type of independent voter McCain is wooing.

The AP reports that Schwarzenegger was scheduled to appear Monday, the convention's opening night, along with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

N.C.: The Great State of "..."?

We love convention roll calls, when designated state officials, one-by-one, stand up at the convention and announce: "The great state of (insert yours here), home to rolling mountains and the whitest sand to tickle your toes, votes for ...."

Rob Christensen of the News & Observer reports that N.C.'s roll call vote (between 5 - 7 p.m. tonight) will be announced by three people - state Democratic Chairman Jerry Meek, Gov. Mike Easley and U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield.

Meek says he plans a meeting this afternoon to decide what should be said. His own personal preference, Meek quipped, is “the home of Duke basketball.” Meek, of course, is a Duke alum.

Hmmm. Have a thought about how the delegates should announce our state?

A note: Rob also reports talk that when the roll call gets to New York, Sen. Hillary Clinton will move that her one-time rival, Barack Obama, be nominated by acclamation. If that's the case, North Carolina will not get its moment in the sun.

Easley: "score to settle" with race and elections in N.C.

The Obama camp might have phrased this a little differently...

The Observer's Jim Morrill reports from Denver:

Gov. Mike Easley told N.C. delegates this morning that Harvey Gantt’s U.S. Senate races laid the groundwork for Barack Obama in North Carolina.

“We’ve got a score to settle,” Easley said.

Gantt, Charlotte’s first African American mayor, beat Easley in a runoff to win the 1990 Democratic Senate nomination. He went on to lose to Republican Sen. Jesse Helms that year and again in 1996.

“We had a chance to elect the first African American statewide in North Carolina and we came that close and fell short,” Easley said.

Later Easley told reporters the Gantt campaigns “showed that race is something you can transcend, and I think Barack Obama has done that.”

Among the delegates in the audience was U.S. Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte. He was Gantt’s campaign manager in 1990.

“Race relations in general is a continuum in the South,” Watt said. “And every time you make a stride, it chips away at the image that we have to be somewhat divided.

“And I think Barack is the beneficiary of that advancement in race relations.”

McCain ad: "Barack Obama, dangerously unprepared to be president."

Here's how campaign ad buys often work in the Internet age: You make a quickie ad, put it out on a few cable stations in a battleground state or two. You alert national media/bloggers to ad. Media/bloggers post ad, with link, giving it national exposure. It's low cost/high impact. Everyone's doing it.

John McCain's latest ad, released this morning, has a notable closing line: "Barack Obama, dangerously unprepared to be president."






The ad plays a little with the truth, saying that Obama called Iran a "tiny" country that "didn't pose a serious threat." What Obama said, in a May 18 quote, was: "They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us."

The ad is smartly timed, arriving the morning of "national security" night at the Democratic Convention. Effective? Tell us what you think.

Hillary Clinton, pass or fail?

Our personal political professor, Wake Forest's Allan Louden, gives her a letter grade and tells us why.

Louden, a renowned professor of political communication, will be here each day this week and next with his popular and compelling analysis of major convention speeches. (For a look at his thoughts on last night's keynote speaker, Mark Warner, go here.)

How did Hillary do? First, a link to the text.

And now, the professor:

It is fair to admit up front that during this long election season I have not been a admirer of Hillary Clinton as a speech maker (or candidate), yet as the campaign wound down in the late stages of April and May, she improved, and measurably so. Last night’s convention speech culminated that trajectory, hitting the right tone - strong, reasoned, impassioned, and, perhaps most importantly, deficient the imperious persona of “the Clintons.”

Her marquee speech last night was a classy concession. It stood in contrast to one delivered in Washington, D.C., at Museum Hall, where she began, “This isn’t exactly the party I planned but I sure like the company.” The June 7th DC speech was well done but failed to convince supporters it fully was over. The contrast was even sharper following primary losses, when not even a congratulations or mention of Obama seemed possible.

David Gergen, commenting on CNN last night, in his reasoned manner, called last night's speech “So clearly a generous act” in reaching out to the party. This speech was not about the Clintons.

Hillary faced a tight wire act evoked by hyper media looking for any clue of lingering resentments or future ambition. She met the challenge with simplicity and believability.

Her task was deceptively simple: Endorse Obama, thank her supporters, and make the case for change.

Endorse

Hillary’s speech opening line was unambiguous, “I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.”

Obama was evoked by name 14 times, perhaps more than her other “supportive” speeches combined. With certainty she intoned, “Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president.”

She framed her comments as the moment for unity, speaking directly to her partisan supporters. “Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.”

Thank You

Concessions speeches tip their hat to those that supported you, acknowledging that bond, praising the disappointed.

Hillary allowed: “You taught me so much, you made me laugh, and ... you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives. And you became part of mine.” Later in the speech she allowed, “To my supporters, my champions — my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits — from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.”

The speech also had to induce her strongest partisans to follow. This too could not have been more direct, a challenge to fulfill their core beliefs. Following examples of why the election matters Hillary instructed:

"Those are the reasons I ran for president. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should, too.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"

Change

Likely the surviving phrase from the speech will be the pithy refrain, “No way. No how. No McCain.”

Clinton permitted: "Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend.
He has served our country with honor and courage.
But we don't need four more years of the last eight years."

Perhaps the most humorous line drilled the change theme, “it makes perfect sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart.”

Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin overnight gave Hillary Clinton an ‘A,’ noting, “She gracefully marked her place as one of America’s premiere politicians with a firm, commanding, gracious argument on behalf of Barack Obama.” I hate to agree with him two days in a row, but I do. It was a powerful yet gracious concession and endorsement, and appropriately not Clinton-centric.

Grade: A

Mark Warner, pass or fail

Mark Warner’s “Millennial” Keynote

The convention keynote address is typically the focal point of a convention night, a surrogate for the nominee’s philosophy, and a stage for rising stars. Mark Warner, former governor and likely next senator from Virginia, took the podium approaching the goals, but walked into a media firestorm that gave the night to Hillary Clinton.

Warner’s address will not be remembered for its oratorical intelligence, but it did break new ground in characterizing the Democratic party/convention. The speech was a contrast of the past with the future, signaled through technology and science, jobs and education.

"If you think there've been dramatic changes in the world and in technology over the last 10 years, you ain't seen nothing yet."

The speech might be best received by “Generation Y” voters, the children of the babyboomers’, born in the 80s and 90s. Long on optimism, short on partisan refrains—appealing to a younger “progressive” generation.

He talked of the new economy as able to bring prosperity to Lebanon, Va., in the coalfields of southwest Virginia, as to Bangalore India.

The Keynote also echoed a major Obama refrain, almost bipartisan in tone, long a Warner brand.

I know we're at the Democratic convention, but if an idea works, it really doesn't matter if it has an "R' or "D' next to it. Because this election isn't about liberal versus conservative. It's not about left versus right. It's about the future versus the past.

Warner invoked his Gubernatorial predecessor “[Thomas] Jefferson got it right at the dawn of the 19th century, and it's our challenge to get it right at the dawn of the 21st. This race is all about the future.”

The 2008 Keynote is likely to be remembered for being forgotten amid the Hillary Clinton maelstrom. Even Warner conceded as much in an unscripted aside. His speech was more a campaign ad for his Senate race than a keynote.

Its techy tone, however, may resonate down the road. Remember, some other keynote speeches by relatively unknowns had consequence, in particular Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Oddly the speech by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, ever the showman, was more of the old fashioned keynoter, firing up the crowd, leaving them cheering in the aisles, warmed up for Hillary’s appearance. After the media embellishment settles, I trust the Mark vs. Brian gravitas will play out fittingly.

Grade: B-

Did she deliver?

Democrats can ask no better of Hillary Clinton than the speech we heard Tuesday night. 

She was a leader, finally steering the party away from her own drama toward the intended target of this week's gathering: John McCain. 

She reminded her supporters why they were in the room - or why they should be - not for the narcissistic celebration of her fight, but for that fight's purpose. 

She was blunt and graceful and, yes, honest. She did not say she liked Barack Obama, or that she was his friend, or that she ever would be. But she said he is a Democrat and believed in the same things as she - and that, in this moment, was enough for her. 

Was it enough for you? 

Tell us here or in the forum of our Politics page. 

 

Your Morning Buzz:

And now: Another Clinton, another complex relationship with Obama. The Washington Post's David Maraniss explains.

Has the Clinton saga obscured Obama's economic message? Jackie Calmes of the New York Times says some Democrats worry. 

The women of Slate talk about whether Hillary's speech was enough for them. 

The elephant in the room for the N.C. delegation: John Edwards, writes the Observer's Jim Morrill and Raleigh's Rob Christensen. 

Politico's Jeanne Cummings writes how Obama's VP choice of Joe Biden makes John McCain's choice a difficult one. 

Obama tells the Wall Street Journal that his speech will emphasize economic issues and tax cuts. 

Don't do it, says The Washington Post's Michael Gerson. Unlike many, he hopes Obama thinks big with the speech. 

"Real people" from N.C. take the stage

Two N.C. women are a part of the convention tonight, as Democrats highlight "real people" who are supporting Barack Obama.

The Observer's Jim Morrill reports:

Gloria Craven, 56, of Eden worked for Pillowtex for 30 years before losing her job in 2003. Pamella Cash-Roper of Pittsboro, 54, is a nurse who is disabled and unable to work. 

Cash-Roper admitted to some butterflies before her three- to four-minute address to a national television audience that's scheduled shortly before Hillary Clinton's speech.

"I'm a little nervous," she said, "but not as bad as I thought I would be. It's my story, and I feel comfortable telling it."

Craven told the convention how she'd been laid off after 30 years with Pillowtex.

"I used to think that I was middle-class," she said. "Now we're living at poverty level."

She said Barack Obama, not John McCain or George Bush, cares about people like her.

"Barack Obama has made me believe again," she said. "I get the feeling he cares about people like me."

Assassination plot not a true threat, authorities say

A U.S. attorney called a plot to assassinate Barack Obama the "reported racist rantings of drug abusers," and said Wednesday the plot did not rise to a legal level in which charges could be filed, the Denver Post is reporting.

The U.S. attorney's office in Colorado, however, is filing federal gun and drug charges against Therin Gartrell and Shawn Adolf, as well as an accomplice, Martin Johnson, who told authorities of the plot.

Documents said Johnson told authorities that Gartrell and Adolf came to Denver this week specifically to kill Obama because they didn't believe a black man should be president. Gartrell was stopped by police in the Denver suburb of Aurora for erratic driving. Police found high-powered rifles in his car, as well as a hunting scope, a bullet-proof vest and several rounds of ammunition.

U.S. attorney Troy Eld said the threats did not meet the threshold of filing charges. "There is the difference between a true threat and the reported racist rantings of drug abusers," Eld said in a news conference this afternoon.

An unnamed female witness from Fort Morgan, Col., who had been driven to Denver on Saturday with Adolf, told Colorado State Police about possible threats against Obama, the federal court records said. The witness said she believed Adolf and Gartrell were white supremacists.

How Hillary Clinton can succeed tonight

What do you say in the speech of your life on a night people are inclined to believe little you say?

This is the challenge Hillary Clinton faces tonight, in the most important speech of the 2008 election.

Clinton must convince people that she really wants Barack Obama to win the presidency, or at least that she really wants John McCain to lose. She must preserve her own legacy by celebrating her fight - but without taking her supporters back to the emotional turmoil of it.

Her words will be exhaustively analyzed, her tone, the fire or lack of it in her eyes. Can she make people believe? Does she want to?

Two clues to each question:

She must be the Direct Hillary, not the Oratorical Hillary. Tonight's speech needs the voice she found late in the primary, in small towns, where her delivery was a clenched fist, ready to fight for you. Not the big-stage voice, the one that delivers lines that are little more than lines. That voice - and those rhetorical flourishes - would likely come off tonight as insincere.

She can't wallow in disappointment or self-congratulation. The country knows her pain, her post-primary struggles. The 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling? It was a fine, genuine sentiment for a concession speech. Not now. It's time for November, not April.

What do you want Clinton to say? Tell us here or in our forums on the Politics page.

Mike Easley in Denver for first convention

Gov. Mike Easley arrived at the Democratic National Convention Monday night, the first time he has attended a national convention, the News & Observer's Rob Christensen reports.

Easley, accompanied by First Lady Mary Easley, sat with the North Carolina delegation in their nose bleed seats in the Pepsi Center.

Although he has no formal speaking role at the convention, Easley said he had been asked to speak to several state delegations and other groups.

The two-term North Carolina governor is famously allergic to political events. He said he did not attend before because he had always been a candidate for state offices at the time.

"I've not always been on the same page" as the Democratic candidate, he said.

Dem Convention 2012? Dream big, Charlotte

Could the Democratic convention come to Charlotte in four years?

The Observer's Jim Morrill reports: It will if Susan Burgess has anything to say about it.

Burgess, Charlotte's mayor pro tem, is also a member of the Democratic National Committee.

She wants to push for the next convention to be held in the Queen City. A few years ago, local Republicans talked about hosting their national convention in the city, but Charlotte didn't make the cut.

"It's because we didn't have the hotels," said Burgess. In recent years, hotels have gone up, a rail line has opened and Uptown has a new arena. By 2012, there not only will be more hotels but more Uptown museums and attractions, Burgess said, adding that the economic impact of a convention is "tremendous."

Both parties are expected to take proposals in 2010 for their next conventions.

An N.C. polling surprise

It's not Barack Obama, but Kay Hagan. The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate now leads Republican Elizabeth Dole, according to a poll released today by Raleigh's Public Policy Polling.

Hagan, who had never led Dole in a PPP poll, now leads 42-39, thanks in large part to a recent ad campaign that emphasized Dole's weak effectiveness ranking by a non-partisan Congressional data service. The ads were paid for by the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Almost 70 percent of N.C. voters surveyed said they had been the ads; among those folks, Hagan has a 45-39 lead. Dole is up 45-34 with the voters who have not seen the ads.

“The DSCC has made it clear this is a race they’re targeting and so far their efforts are
paying off,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Elizabeth Dole has
a lot of money and will certainly respond in the next ten weeks, but this contest has
clearly moved itself into the toss up category.”

Obama trails John McCain in N.C., 45-42, the same margin in PPP's poll last month. The Illinois senator continues to struggle picking up N.C. Democrats; only 69 percent of people who identified with the party said they would vote for Obama.

Tomorrow, PPP will release results on the N.C. governor's race and other state races.

Arrests in Colorado: An assassination foiled?

Details are trickling in about a traffic stop that may have thwarted what the Los Angeles Times is calling an "unfolding plot" to assasinate Barack Obama.

The plot, which the Times reports was planned for Obama's acceptance speech Thursday at Invesco Field, was reportedly discovered after authorities stopped a pickup truck for swerving between lanes early Sunday morning in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

In the vehicle, rented by 28-year-old convicted felon Tharin Gartrell, police found two high-powered scoped rifles, ammunition, sighting scopes, radios, a cellphone, a bulletproof vest, wigs, drugs and fake IDs in the vehicle, according to the Times. Brian Maass of Denver's KCNC Channel 4 reported that Gartrell implicated two other men and a woman. One of the men reportedly confirmed the plot to FBI and Secret Service interrogators.

Local authorities turned the information over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Secret Service, according to the Denver Post. The Secret Service determined there was a "credible threat" from the individuals directed toward Obama.

Newsweek reports that a source familiar with the investigation said that Gartrell and the other two suspects were believed to be white supremacists. One question, according to that source, is whether the men were in position to carry out any kind of threats against the candidate—or whether they were trying to impress girlfriends. The Obama campaign declined comment, referring reporters to the U.S. attorney's statement.

Monday evening, the U. S. Attorney's office in Denver issued the following statement confirming an unspecified number of arrests. "This is a methamphetamine and firearms case that arose from a traffic stop made by an Aurora Police officer," the statement read. "Firearms and methamphetamine were seized, and a number of individuals are in state custody. The matter continues to be under investigation. We'll provide more information as it becomes available." A law enforcement source said that prosecutors plan to file federal drug and gun charges against the suspects on Tuesday.

U.S. attorney Troy Eid is expected to hold a press conference in Denver at 4 p.m. local time.

Michelle Obama, pass or fail?

Our personal political professor, Wake Forest's Allan Louden, gives her a letter grade.

You might remember Louden from the 2008 primaries. A renowned professor of political communication, he graced the Primary Source with his compelling and entertaining analysis of primary ads. It was, each day, one of our most popular items.

Louden will do the same this week and next, looking at the major convention speeches, their intent and their execution. Last night, Michelle Obama set out to show that her story, and her husband's, are stories that Americans can recognize. How did she do?

First, a link to the transcript and audio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93963863

Now, the professor:

I watched the Michelle Obama convention speech with the expectation that she needed to be “more real than real,” so middle-America that there would be little room for humanity. She had to tell her story, but in a style so safe as to defy genuineness. She had to speak to vague charges of being “controversial,” which even mild defiance would confirm.

Would walking a line as narrow as an Olympic balance beam purge the qualities that invite America’s embrace? To her credit, Michelle Obama speech transcended the inauthentic, achieved its goals—human and political.

Universal Themes

At its heart Michelle Obama’s speech was about values, seamlessly weaved from the opening lines to the concluding moments. She intoned:

“Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.”

In classical rhetorical construction, she visited and revisited the values of her family, “I come here tonight as a sister . . . wife . . . Mom . . . daughter.”

The family values made manifest a political agenda as well; invoking "The world as it should be." not "The world as it is.”

"[A]s I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears."

Historical Place

There is little certainty that wives’ convention speeches make a lasting difference. More often they receive faint praise and are overwhelmed by the main attraction. Historically they have been mixed affairs.

In 2004, Teresa Heinz Kerry exhibited more intellectualization of the national scene, but spoke twice too long. Michelle Obama speech lasted under twenty minutes. It was more in the tone of Tipper Gore’s 2000 speech, but has a strain of independence, even with undertones of “stand by your man.” She was not a “policy partner” as with Hillary Clinton’s 1992 speech, but rather simply “a partner;” not the “family celebrant” as Hillary portrayed in 1996, but rather the embodiment of family.

One of the most effective spouse speeches of any convention was given by North Carolina’s Senator Elizabeth Dole in 1996 on behalf of her husband Bob Dole. Using selective narratives and testimonials, delivered from the convention floor, Elizabeth established the standard for a convention speech. Nonetheless the speech was solely about Bob Dole. While Michelle Obama lauded her husband’s character and policy direction, her speech was as much about her personal story as Barack’s, as much about defining him through their shared values. She was at once independent and deferential; modern and customary.

Rhetorical Mastery

The speech was garnished with concise phrases, efficient allusions to political realities, without drawing attention to themselves. At various points she dropped in lines dripping with political acumen: “Even though he had this funny name” “That is why I love this country.” “Hillary who put those 18 million cracks in that glass ceiling.”

Michelle Obama spoke quickly, a clipped tone, but it felt natural, conversational, and bona fide. Much of the tenor was achieved by a natural cadence, a bit unpolished—but real. This listener did not feel I was witnessing the “big speech” shouted from the podium as with other evening speakers. Perhaps it was not insulting the audience with her place - or perhaps just the human quality of how lines were delivered.

There were moments that brought tears to the eyes of many. The pathos, however, was not maudlin; rather it bordered on the brusque. I like to think of myself as a “hardened” political observer, yet I was touched as Michelle Obama summed her themes in a story of their new baby’s first trip home:

"The Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

Postscript

The video visit by “Dad” from Kansas City immediately following the speech, however hokey, worked. The embodiment of family was firmly stamped.

Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin gave Michelle Obama’s DNC speech an ‘A’: “In her one big chance to convince the country she is ready to be first lady, Michelle Obama checked the box in a major way.”

I agree.

GRADE: A

Barack Obama, regular guy?

Last night, America learned that Barack Obama was a doting, nervous new father, that he was a kid out of college who made an iffy first impression on his wife-to-be, that he had the wisdom (or luck) to marry a strong and intelligent woman.

The theme Monday night at the Democratic Convention was "One Nation," but in reality it was "Meet Obama." And more importantly: "He's one of us."

That message is one of the most significant territorial battles of each presidential election. In 2004, John Kerry got defined as the rich Northeast liberal, and lost. In 1992, Bill Clinton was the man from Hope, from modest beginnings. One of us. It's not a must to get elected (see Richard Nixon), but it sure helps (George Walker Bush).

So last night was not about the economy or national security, not about contrasting with Republicans - or even about Republicans at all. If Barack Obama can convince Democrats that he is theirs, and that they should be his the way they were with Bill Clinton and John Kerry - he will win in November. 

So on Monday, Ted Kennedy came out to remind Democrats why they were Democrats, then Michelle Obama introduced them to her family - to her Barack, husband and dad. One of them. 

Did it work? Who in this campaign shares your values? And how does that matter to you? Tell us your thoughts here, or in the forums of the Observer's new Politics page. 

Your Morning Buzz: 

Shortly after the primaries, Barack Obama told Hillary Clinton he likely would not choose her as VP write Anne Kornblutt of the Washington Post in a story about Clinton's post-primary struggles.

Slate's John Dickerson wonders if Clintonites will come back to the party after all - or whether Obama even needs them. 

Politico's Amie Parnes, at the Convention, says more of HIllary's supporters are warming to Obama. 

The Democratic Party's three families - Kennedy, Clinton, Obama - are navigating through sometimes uneasy alliances, writes Patrick Healy of the New York Times. 

Politico's John Harris says the Clinton's, especially Bill, are struggling to find the path toward a graceful exit.

Reggie Love, Charlottean and former Duke basketball player, is Barack Obama's body man. Love explains his job to the Observer's Jim Morrill. 

Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, also has some N.C. ties, writes the News and Observer's Rob Christensen. 

The Omega button - an S.C. mystery explained

DENVER -- At a convention full of political buttons, South Carolina delegates are sporting one that's as unique as it is cryptic. Under the familiar Obama logo it says simply, "Omega."

Jim Morrill reports that the buttons are the brainchild of Kyle Cox, the state party's campaign director who helped direct Obama's primary victory in January. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, in a conference call with S.C. supporters, once talked about the campaign's "Alpha and Omega Strategy."

A victory in Iowa was the alpha and South Carolina, the springboard to Super Tuesday, the omega.

As it turned out, the campaign would go on for months after Obama's S.C.victory. But Cox says South Carolina is still celebrating what it considers its pivotal role.

"It's kind of us pounding our chest at the convention," Cox says, that we helped make it happen."

Michelle Obama, backstage

Moments ago, the Obama campaign sent supporters a short video of Michelle Obama and her daughters behind the curtain at the Pepsi Center in Denver.






The video, in advance of tonight's prime-time speech, reinforces the message of Michelle as Mom, and the Obamas as regular folks. Party officials want America to learn that about their candidate tonight, and the campaign has released some speech excerpts that further the notion.

From the speech:

"The Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

Obama campaign: We want Mitt!

If John McCain names former rival Mitt Romney as his running mate, Democrats are ready.

Jim Morrill reports from Denver:

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called the former Massachusetts governor "a job-killing machine."

"This guy has a history of job losses," Plouffe told reporters. "If they pick Mitt Romney, we think it will compound the problem McCain has on the economy."

Plouffe hinted that Obama's campaign would recycle some ads Democrat Ted Kennedy used against Romney in the 1994 U.S. Senate race. Kennedy won handily.

Want the latest news, views and photos on politics? Click here and link to the Politics page.

Obama campaign: N.C. "a central battleground."

Barack Obama's campaign manager said today the campaign will soon return to the airwaves in North Carolina and other battleground states.

The Observer's Jim Morrill reports from Denver:

David Plouffe told reporters the campaign had pulled ads in most battleground states during convention week.

"We weren't going to be anywhere this week," Plouffe said. "We'll be back very very soon in North Carolina on the air."

The Obama campaign has spent about $2 million so far in the state, mostly on TV advertising.

After a PowerPoint on the campaign's national strategy, Plouffe called North Carolina "a central battleground." He said with its relatively large African American population and large numbers of voting age young people, the state is one of several Southern targets, including Virginia, Georgia and Florida.

Each went for Republican George Bush in 2004.

Let the healing begi... um, forget it

Charlotte's Serena Porter, a Democrat, told us back in April that she couldn't vote for Barack Obama. How's the party unity thing working for her?

First, a refresher: We interviewed Porter then for a primary season story about supporters who were so passionate about Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton that they would have difficulty supporting a Democrat if theirs didn't win the nomination.

Porter, a 38-year-old executive assistant and Clinton supporter, had long believed that Clinton would lead her party back to the White House. "We thought this was our year," she said then.

We caught up with her today.

The Ballot: You told us back in April that you could not in good conscience vote for Obama. Have you changed your mind at all?

Porter: I have not changed my mind and the announcement of the ticket certainly didn't help matters. Biden has a colorful history of off-color comments. They think he was best suited to win back the Hillary votes where Obama failed to produce. Not that they truly think he is the best candidate for president should he have to step up.

The Ballot: John McCain is making a big play today for Hillary Clinton supporters. Are you leaning toward him, or not voting at all?

Porter: Yes, I am leaning toward McCain, but a great deal will have to do with who he chooses as a running mate. If it's Romney, I'm probably in. As I mentioned in our earlier discussion, not voting gives me no right to an opinion on how things end up, so I don't see that as being a viable option. At least this way the Democratic party knows they didn't satisfy everyone/me with their choice.

The Ballot: What did you think of Obama's selection of Joe Biden for VP? Would you feel different about your vote if Obama had selected Clinton?

Porter: Not quite the ticket I'd hoped for - and as you are already hearing, just a blatant reminder of the inexperience of Obama. Trying to compliment his self-admitted weak areas with Biden and years of foreign policy experience.

Would I feel different if Obama had selected Clinton? Honestly, no. For the same reason. I'm supposed to buy into the fact that this gentleman is capable of leading the free world. Oh, in case something happens to the commander in chief, I should feel warm and fuzzy that he has someone lined up who can. I'd rather have two weak halves make a whole than a stronger partner who is supposed to carry the bulk of the load under the guise of being able to offer an opinion when asked.
-
Want the latest news, views and photos on politics? Click here and link to the Politics page.

Now boarding (often) - Anthony Foxx

Charlotte City Council member Anthony Foxx, an N.C. delegate, is getting his frequent flier miles this week.

So says the Observer's Jim Morrill, who checks in from Denver, where he's pursuing Carolinas stories and items from the convention.

Says Jim:

"After arriving in Denver Saturday, Foxx was returning to Charlotte this morning to vote at tonight's city council meeting. Council Democrats want to override a veto by Mayor Pat McCrory of legislation involving the Belmont neighborhood.

Wearing a suit and running shoes, Foxx was on his way out of the delegation hotel this morning to catch a noon (Charlotte time) flight back. He planned to return to Denver after the meeting.

'It's a crazy trip,' he said."

In case you're wondering: yes, Foxx is paying for it.

Hillary: "I do not approve that message"

Democrats knew this was coming. A new GOP ad reminds voters of Hillary Clinton's strongest criticism of Barack Obama - that he is too inexperienced for the presidency.





The ad pulls a clip of primary footage in which Clinton praises McCain and slaps at Obama. "Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign," Hillary said. "I will bring a lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will bring a speech he gave in 2002."

At the time, Democrats howled that the quote would be resurrected in the fall if Obama won the nomination. Clinton, at a New York delegation breakfast this morning, tried to blunt the impact. “I’m Hillary Clinton, and I do not approve that message,” she said, according to the Albany Times-Union.

Did it work?

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Obama swings hard at McCain - with song

We interrupt your Democratic infighting for a new ad targeting this week's intended opponent: John McCain.

The Obama campaign released this cheeky but harsh item today - a reminder of this week's overriding themes (they hope): The economy, John McCain and George Bush.






Sung to the tune of Sam Cooke's Wonderful World ("Don't Know Much..."), it's a cute nod to McCain's perceived economic weaknesses:

I'm not up on the economy.
Don't know much about industry.
Really can't explain the price of gas,
or what has happened to the middle class...

The campaign says the ad is airing in battleground states, but it hasn't released specifics.

Want the latest news, views and photos on politics? Click here and link to the politics page.

It's getting testy out there

How worried is the Obama campaign about the Unity story? It's pushing back hard today against reporting that resentment still roils the Obama-Clinton relationship.

Politico is reporting that the camps have fought over the content - and author - of Bill Clinton's speech, scheduled for Wednesday. Clinton wants to talk about the economy and his successful administration, but the theme of the night is national security.

Some Obama folks, in turn, believe that the Clintonites are sore losers - not very interested in the whole unity thing.

In response, the Obama and Clinton folks released this statement today:

"We understand that some in the news media are more interested in reporting the rumor of controversy than the fact of unity. The fact is that our teams are working closely to ensure a successful convention and will continue to do so. Senator and President Clinton fully support the Obama/Biden ticket and look forward to addressing the convention and the nation on the urgency of victory this Fall. Anyone saying anything else doesn't know what they're talking about. Period."

Will this linger? Should it? Tell us your thoughts here or in the forums on our new Politics page.

A Monday surprise: Kennedy in Denver

NBC News and the Boston Globe are reporting that Sen. Edward Kennedy has a speech ready and is waiting on an OK from his doctor to appear at Democratic Convention tonight. Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer in May.

"He is definitely planning to be here," a Kennedy family confidant told the Globe. "The whole Kennedy family will be in a special section. It should be quite a moment."

Kennedy surprised many early in the primary season when he endorsed Obama despite having a long relationship with Hillary Clinton. A speech tonight could provide a powerful and emotional launch to the convention.

Among Kennedy family members expected to convene in Denver are sister Jean Kennedy Smith, sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy, nephews Joseph P. Kennedy II and Stephen Smith, and nieces Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Caroline Kennedy, who will also address the convention.

Morning Buzz: Is Unity overrated?

Welcome to the The Ballot, the first day of the Democratic Convention, and the real start to the 2008 general election. Beginning today, with two conventions and three debates, voters see the candidates intimately and in contrast. Polls change dramatically. Wanderers come back to their party. Undecideds become decideds. 

This week and next, we'll bring you convention news and other items from across the country. We'll chat with reporters in Denver and St. Paul, plus experts and others - and, as always, we'll surf the net so you don't have to. 

Our Question of the Day: Is Unity overrated?

Barack Obama comes into the convention with solid party support - four of five Democrats give him the nod in recent polls (about the same as Republicans who support John McCain.) Obama is steadily picking up voters who once supported Hillary Clinton - between 60 and 70 percent have reconciled their disappointment, recent surveys show. Both numbers are sure to increase this week and beyond as more Democrats/Clintonites are reminded of the implications of stepping across the anger threshold and voting Republican.

And yet, Unity is the story of the convention, and it likely will be until at least Wednesday night, when Clinton takes the stage, releases her delegates and passionately/half-heartedly/hollowly calls on the faithful to come together in November.

Until then, we will get a full menu of Hillary - from snubbed-as-VP stories to still-angry supporters stories to former supporters angry at still-angry supporters stories.

Is it enough to sabotage a convention that wants to focus its message toward independents and iffy Republicans?

Or are you a still-angry supporter who wants to see just that?

Tell us what you think about party unity. Comment here or head on over to the forum on our new Politics page. 

Your Morning Buzz - interesting reading from Sunday and today:

Right on cue, an Obama/Clinton-ish poll: A New York Times survey of Democratic delegates shows support for Obama - but some lingering doubts about the presumptive nominee. 

Politico's Jon Harris and Mike Allen report that the Obama and Clinton camps are still sniping at each other.

Not to be left out, John McCain pulls at the primary scab with a new ad.

The Chicago Tribune's Dahleen Glanton previews tonight's headline speaker. Michelle Obama plans to introduce (read: define) herself to America. 

Joe Biden = resilient and provocative, the New York Times suggests in this Sunday profile.

Maureen Dowd wonders: Has John McCain used up his "I'm Former POW" credit line?

America's biographer, David Maraniss, gives us Barack Obama, The Hawaii Years. A compelling read in the Washington Post.

Did you hear that John McCain didn't know how many houses he has? Yes, we did, too. Newsweek's Jonathan Alter looks at other political gaffes and wonders if this one will stick.

Welcome to The Ballot

Today, the Primary Source becomes The Ballot, a daily online report on the news (and not-so-newsy) from the 2008 election. We'll be updating often the next two weeks as the Democrats meet in Denver and the Republicans in St. Paul.

We'll do all the things we did on the Primary Source - chat with reporters (at the conventions this week), have the latest from the campaigns, and surf the web all day - so you don't have to. We'll also bring back our popular professor, Allan Louden of Wake Forest University, who will grade the major speeches each day.

The Ballot launches Monday morning. See you then.