dnc report, Monday

Okay then.... 'Wish I hadn't looked at CNN so soon after returning from the Pepsi Center. Alas, it would seem that Gergen and Carville would have us believe that the evening was wasted, opportunities lost, etc. I am a bit confused as to what they expected, I guess. Was Michelle Obama supposed to hammer John McCain and argue against offshore drilling? Was the senior senator from Massachusetts supposed to come out of his convalescence and insult Cindy?

Only time will tell if the convention - and tonight in particular - will succeed in inuring BHO to swing-state voters, independents, et al. But I thought that the Claire McCaskill/Michelle Obama block was a very effective way of introducing Barack - and by extension, the post-Clinton, 21st Century, "50 state strategy" Democratic Party - to the at-large viewership: hence the "One Nation" theme and sentimental biopics, respectively. There will be plenty of time to hammer John McCain - and if Hillary, Warner, Biden and Bill don't hammer and hammer and hammer, than they're not worth spitting at - but that's not what
tonight was about.

Now, mebbe yr saying, that's the point, Lex! What was tonight about? Well, I gave you my impression, but it's the impression of somebody who's in the hall, not somebody watching tv like the overwhelming number of Americans who are just starting to think about this election, and just now tuning in to see who exactly the Dems are, and who exactly the Obamas are, in 2008. So why don't you tell me whether you thought tonight worked or not. And I'll throw out a few more general observations:

• The convention is better lit, and has much better music than 2000....
  
• Same stilted, staged and vapid infomercials re: the economy. I wonder if we've embarked upon a new era in which "working families" will come to be as overused a term as "middle class."
  
• Nancy Pelosi's speech was dullsville.
  
• The crowd went bat-crap when Joe Biden did an impromptu walk-through; ditto for Ted Kennedy, naturally.
  
• Just like in 2000, Jimmy Carter was acknowledged and allowed to take a bow, but not allotted any time to speak. 'Makes me kind of sad.
  
• I am not sure that Iowa Republican Jim Leach did very much for anybody. Being drunk on 20th century American history I kind of enjoyed his digression re: the Four Great debates in American history. Me and four other people. That said, the idea that Tom Harkin was reduced to little more than introducing Leach seemed kind of like a waste. I wonder if that whole half-hour was aimed at winning Iowa in Novemebr... How many electoral votes do they have over there, -2?
  
• Tomorrow is a big day for me.... Onwards to the AFL-CIO Economic Forum.