To: Our Readers
SPECIAL ENPR DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION RECAP
EDITOR'S NOTE: Next week as we cover the Republican convention in St. Paul, we will have a different publishing schedule, sending you ENPR twice: on Monday and Friday. Here's your recap of the Democratic convention, including an analysis of Obama's running mate Joe Biden. Expect a GOP preview on Monday, September 1, with more on McCain's running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and a recap on Friday, 9/5. After that, we'll return to normal.
PALIN Following the Democrats' superb convention, Sen. John McCain gave his candidacy a needed shot in the arm with his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin is a pro-life, conservative reformer. But just as important, she is a woman and young. The conservative base is revitalized, and the race is wide open. Democratic Convention Overview: A spectacular convention, expertly scripted, and masterfully carried out by a squad of talented politicians buoys Democratic spirits, unites the party, and should catapult Obama to a larger lead in the polls. - The convention's final day, before an estimated crowd of 75,000 at Mile High Stadium, took to a new level the made-for-television spectacle that conventions have become, while also continuing the Democratic message since 2004 of openness and populism.
- Obama came across well, and the convention, as an introduction to the candidate, was excellent.
- McCain was not the target of Democratic attacks as much as Bush was. Many speakers spent minutes railing against Bush's failures, and ended the tirade by stating McCain is more of the same. Democrats (and Bush's performance) turned "four more years" into a curse.
 A Stock Tip from... Ann Coulter? Do you know which special interest has given more money to the Obama and Clinton campaigns than any other? If you guessed "trial lawyers" -- well, okay, that's too easy. But can you guess which special interest came in second? Labor unions? Nope. The Green Lobby? Nope. AARP? Wrong, again. NEA? Nyet. Give up? Okay, here's the answer... Read the rest of Ann's letter here | - In praising Obama, speakers were careful to avoid specifics. This reflects two things: first Democrats may have learned from John Kerry's misstep four years ago, in which the convention speakers focused so heavily on Kerry's Vietnam War record. Pinning his campaign on this, Kerry left himself open to attack-an attack that fatally distracted him in a campaign he could have won.
- Second, Obama's vagueness is a deliberate strategy. Striving to be a blank slate on which all sorts of voters can cast their hopes. "Leadership," "open-mindedness," "change," "hope," and "Yes We Can," were the virtues touted. His own life and record were mentioned, but not much in prime time.
- Democrats leave Denver revved up and unified-a level of enthusiasm and support among the base that exceeds any nominee for either party since Reagan.
Obama: On a stage built to evoke the Rose Garden, Obama delivered a good speech before his biggest audience yet. If this is the first impression for some independent voters, it's a good one. - Obama was a bit lighter on the preacher-in-the-pulpit stuff and the soaring rhetoric than he has been in the past. It was a slightly watered-down version of Obama, appropriate for an independent TV audience, but possibly falling short of the expectations for this highly touted orator's speech of a lifetime.
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