However, one thing he didn’t tout, indeed he did not mention, was his signature achievement Obamacare. His finest moment can’t even be mentioned in public. Although he mischaracterized the Romney-Ryan Medicare plan as “Vouchercare”, he offered little of his own regarding reform of either Medicare or Social Security. This was political timidity of the worst kind.
The question is, did he let the air out of the balloon here? Lose the momentum that gathered with such undeniable force over the previous two nights? I suspect he may have. If he comes out of this convention with under a three-point bounce, that will constitute a horrible missed opportunity. This thing was teed up for him to build a five-point lead. If there’s little movement in next week’s polls, then there’s also little doubt whose fault it is. Michelle did her job, and Clinton more than did his.
I'm genuinely surprised. Obama's speech was remarkably, almost shockingly, flat and mediocre. We've heard iterations of that speech many times before, but this one felt phoned in from start to finish. The audience was ready to explode, but they never really had the chance. I kept waiting for it to pick up, but it never did. This hall was much louder and more engaged during President Clinton's address last night.
There is no punchline, except to say this hellbroth of personalities were all participating in a real event at the Democratic convention, and it was about as bad as it sounds. Officially, it was called “Opportunity: What Is Working - A Bipartisan Search for Solutions to the Jobs Crisis,” and it was sponsored by the Huffington Post. In total there were 16 people on the panel, which they accommodated by stopping after an hour and playing musical chairs.
But I’m in the minority on this. What strikes me as melodramatic posturing strikes those around me, judging by their comments, as either immaculate political showmanship or genuine passion, which I find preposterous. Still, they predict with assurance that the speech will be deemed a success, and I guess they ought to know because they’re the ones who will start the deeming process. Which, in fact, has already begun.UPDATE:
From the Romney campaign: What They're Saying About President Obama's Disappointing DNC Speech
“Lacked Clinton’s Magic” … “An Excitement Gap” … “Stuff We’ve Heard Before” … “Didn’t Have That Spark”
