Do conventions "matter"? I've attended five national political conventions, and while they are fun, and important for party regulars as a networking/enthusiasm tool, the faux-drama the media build up around them is unjustified. About the only thing that really matters, in terms of its ability to move votes -- because a lot of voters actually see it -- is the nominee's acceptance speech. The convention "bounce" is a real phenomenon. But according to Nate Silver it typically dissipates a few weeks after the event, and weeks before election day.
Two conventions in recent memory flirted with outright disaster. One was the 1988 Republican convention: after George H.W. Bush picked Dan Quayle, the week was dominated by questions about Quayle's qualifications and use of family connections to secure a spot in the National Guard, thus avoiding Vietnam. The other was the Republican 1992 convention, hijacked by culture warriors (remember Pat Buchanan's keynote speech? "There is a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America. It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we will one day be as was the Cold War itself. And in that struggle for the soul of America, Clinton & Clinton are on the other side, and George Bush is on our side.")
But neither of those problems made any observable difference in the election. Bush gave an excellent speech in 1988 (though "read my lips" would come back to haunt him), then won. And his political problems were so profound in 1992 that even a flawless convention wouldn't have made up for them.
By the same token, a lot of observers are complaining about the bland tone of Monday night's proceedings, its absence of attacks on John McCain. Well, one of the most entertaining and seemingly devastating opening night attacks came in 1988, when Ann Richards skewered Bush: "Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
By today's standards of punditry, the combination of the D's home run and the R's disaster in 1988 should have set the course for a spectacular Dukakis victory. History had other ideas.
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Obama's problem isn't that people don't know him. How could they not, he's been all over the news for over a year? The problem is that they are getting to know him, and they are realizing that there is absolutely no rationale for his candidacy. Obama is going to LOSE this most important election (for the Democrats' image, let alone the country as a whole), the Clintons will have been proven right (that he is unelectable), and we'll have to wait till 2012 to get what we could have had in 2008.
Olberman got Abrams fired two weeks ago for not attacking Hillary! Last night Olberman blew up and had an on air screaming match with Joe Scarbough!
Tonight I expect him to attack Hillary and Wednesday he will attack Bill Clinton.
MSNBC has caused a war in the Democratic party.
Think of all the money spent on these conventions...what a waste
No
BORING!