A good night for the Democrats

I was able to watch most of last night's coverage and thought the speeches I saw were quite good. I had wondered if giving the Clintons so much air time at the convention would make Obama look weak and desparate but see now that it was a good decision. Not much atention was given to the speech that John Kerry made but I thought he also made a very strong and effective case for Obama. One of the CNN commentators remarked that it was a very un-Kerry like speech in its passion and forcefulness. Had he given more speeches like this one when he was running four years ago, he would probably be president today. I thought Biden did okay but was not as enthusiastic about his speech as many of the commentators were. There was a bit too much emphasis on all the poor struggling families sitting around their kitchen tables trying to figure out how they were going to survive for my taste. I know the Democrats want to show that they :sahre the pain" of those who are struggling but they need to be careful about going overboard on the gloom and despair in the country.

Campaign Politics Assignment

This is a new experiment in teaching the campaign politics course. I am asking my students to keep a blog in which they record their thoughts on the presidential campaign. I decided that I should lead by example so I am starting a campaign blog of my own. The fun all starts today with the opening of the Democratic Convention in Denver. I am especially looking forward to hearing Michelle Obama's speech . . . I suspect she will be playing a highly visible and effective role in the fall campaign. The big question going into the campaign is how the hardcore Clinton supporters will behave. I have never understood the depth of their anger and bitterness towards Obama. The nomination was Clinton's to lose and she lost it . . . the more that comes out about the campaign's dyfunctional internal workings, the clearer it is that the campaign made huge blunders. What possible objectiive can the hardcore Clinton supporters have in undermining the Obama campaign?