2012 Tuesday: What will we hear from Charlotte?
Last week in Tampa, the Republicans made significant progress toward their main objectives: revealing more of the personal side of Mitt Romney, and clearly communicating their pitch to voters in this election.
This week in Charlotte, it’s the Democrats’ turn. What will President Obama and his party try to accomplish? Will they continue to play defense against the GOP or try to seize the initiative?
Going into today’s opening events, it would appear it’s the former, with Democrats trying to neutralize the Republican message. Here’s part of today’s curtain-raiser from the Wall Street Journal:
The Democratic Party’s goals for the three-day gathering include widening its advantages among female and Hispanic voters while limiting Mr. Obama’s losses among white, working-class ones. At the same time, its overarching ambition is to rebut Mr. Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, who used last week’s Republican National Convention to try to pry away the president’s 2008 voters by casting him as a nice guy who isn’t up to the challenge. …
A senior Obama campaign official said the president may offer one or two new policy proposals in his speech Thursday, when he accepts the nomination for re-election, but that he would spend more time arguing that his existing ideas on health care, education and deficit-reduction amount to “a clear, concrete and achievable plan” for a second term.
The New York Times sounds a similar note, observing that the thrill of 2008 is gone and that Democrats’ “unity at this point is defined less by faith in Mr. Obama or a robust vision for what the party should stand for than by the prospect that Republicans could control the White House and Congress next year and enact a conservative agenda that would unravel much of what Democrats have stood for since Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society.”
So it’s defense, defense, defense.
In football, they say defense wins championships. Will that work in this year’s election?
I have my doubts. For one, pitching themselves and Obama as a suitable status quo against a radical Republican Party led by Romney and Paul Ryan would seem to hinge on the word “suitable.” And voters have their own doubts about that: In a new poll for The Hill, voters said the nation is worse, not better, off than four years ago by a 54-32 margin, and that Obama does not deserve re-election by a 54-40 count.
Even the Obama camp is having a hard time answering the “better off” question, made famous in 1980 when Ronald Reagan posed that question to voters after four years of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley answered in the negative on “Face the Nation” Sunday — though he did gamely try to blame the Republicans — before backtracking on Monday.
Obama himself said yesterday he deserved a grade of “incomplete” for his handling of the economy, the same grade he gave himself last October and in August 2010. Will voters be as forgiving?
After the GOP spent a week being mostly upbeat in Tampa, I think it will be a problem for Obama if he and the Democrats can’t come up with a positive message in Charlotte.
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
475 comments Add your comment
md
September 4th, 2012
10:13 pm
How are polls conducted??
Here’s an interesting interview that may or may not answer the question:
http://www.hughhewitt.com/transcripts.aspx?id=1c1a7295-7ce1-47e7-8074-4ce24952aceb
Seems a bit skewed to me……
Romney Candidate of the Few by the Few for the Few
September 4th, 2012
10:13 pm
@They BOTH suck
September 4th, 2012
10:01 pm
Heck for all anyone knows, Jehohva wanted Obamacare covered
They say he works in mysterious ways………….
*************************************************************************
The wealth of the world has reached remarkable levels, but perhaps half of humanity is left out when it comes to sharing all that bounty.
Mankind’s Creator, Jehovah God, is not pleased with this situation. Jehovah views the poor with compassion.
In the Bible: “God is sure not to forget the outcry of the afflicted ones.” (Psalm 9:12)
Jehovah is a God who cares about the poor.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 4th, 2012
10:15 pm
Massachusetts judge rules for inmate’s sex-change surgery
By Pauline Kim, CNN
(CNN) — A federal court judge on Tuesday ordered Massachusetts officials to provide sex-reassignment surgery for a transsexual prison inmate, after determining that it was the only adequate treatment for the inmate’s mental illness.
————————–
This is the kind of nonsense that Democrats are campaigning for in Charlotte.
Is it any wonder that a country so far gone could elect an incompetent loser like Obozo?
md
September 4th, 2012
10:17 pm
“Moving the country forward from the middle UP.”
I’m a bit confused on how that is supposed to work, can you explain it in a few sentences so we might have an idea of how this forward stuff works……
td
September 4th, 2012
10:24 pm
Romney Candidate of the Few by the Few for the Few,
I am having a hard time getting the concept of building from the “middle up”? Who is the middle and why are you leaving the bottom behind?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 4th, 2012
10:26 pm
We’re about to go over a fiscal cliff and Obozo wants to go…Forward.
Time to back up and turn around…back to freedom, personal responsibility, and free-market capitalism, and away from liberal fascism.
Change.
Vote American.
Dusty
September 4th, 2012
10:26 pm
JDW
A rebate check is cost control? I seriously doubt that you know anything about the cost of healthcare or cost control.
But I do believe that you think Obamacare is going to be free or less expensive or some other fairy tale.
Today the national debt rose to 16 TRILLION.and that is without Obamacare in effect as yet. You better be thinking of a way to live off of nothing when this country goes broke from poor money management and blind ignorance.
JDW
September 4th, 2012
10:28 pm
@LBB…”This is the kind of nonsense that Democrats are campaigning for in Charlotte.”
Psssssssst..Judge Wolf is a Reagan apointee…that is what we are fighting against.
mike
September 4th, 2012
10:29 pm
I hate to be the one to rain on the Republican’s parade but maybe you should take a look at this.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/
It doesn’t look good for you Republicans.
JDW
September 4th, 2012
10:37 pm
@Dusty…”A rebate check is cost control? I seriously doubt that you know anything about the cost of healthcare or cost control. ”
Having managed good sized businesses both in the US and Europe, I am pretty sure I got a good handle. See when you get money back that you would have normally spent that REDUCES your costs. So when your insurance company is forced by Obamacare to spend at least 80% of your premium on care otherwise they give you the money back…that reduces your cost.
“Today the national debt rose to 16 TRILLION.and that is without Obamacare in effect as yet. You better be thinking of a way to live off of nothing when this country goes broke from poor money management and blind ignorance.”
Already saw that movie…it started in January of 2001 and thankfully we started the long road to recovery in January of 2009.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 4th, 2012
10:41 pm
Growing the deficit twice as fast as Bush is “recovery”?
Dusty
September 4th, 2012
10:50 pm
JDW
If you have such a great “handle”, your version of handing out taxpayer money is pretty lame. It is about as smart as trying to blame Bush for four years of failure with Obama.
You had better go to Washington with your “handle” and tell them what to do with a 16 trillion debt. Please don’t tell them to raise taxes and then try to give some back to tax;payers for a “free” stimulus or some other rediculous scheme that has already failed one time.
Your handle has DNC written all over it. Polish it up a bit.
ODD OWL
September 4th, 2012
10:59 pm
All of Gov. Romney’s faults and shortcomings are being exposed by First Lady Michele Obama and she has not even called his name… Aaaahhhh the power of words….
Tealiban Party
September 4th, 2012
11:03 pm
What you are hearing is Duvall Patrick and Michelle Obama knocking it out of park!
mike
September 4th, 2012
11:07 pm
Ah! now all you Republicans, cheer up! Your day is coming. In 2024!
JDW
September 4th, 2012
11:13 pm
@Dusty…I am quite comfortable with my handle…it’s those that operate from a base of ignorance that concern me. Let me refresh your memory…
Q4 2008 job losses equaled 1.5 MILLION
Q4 2008 GDP decline was 8.9%
Business credit was non existent
DOW ended the year at 8776
Wonder whose watch that was on?
Today…
4.5 million jobs created over last 29 months more than the entire Bush debacle
GDP growing at around 2% per year
Corporate profits at all time high
DOW 13,000 plus
Not bad for about 3.5 years wouldn’t you say?
Michael
September 4th, 2012
11:27 pm
Obama’s job plan is like Nixon’s plan to get the US out of Vietnam..just more lies from a corrupt politician
Tealiban Party
September 4th, 2012
11:29 pm
Micheal — I think you are confused.
Paul Ryan gave his speech last week.
getalife
September 4th, 2012
11:30 pm
She is wicked smart like Hillary but can deliver a better speech.
Senator Obama?
getalife
September 4th, 2012
11:31 pm
mikey lied on Jay’s blog too.
Is Jay in Charlotte?
Lucky guy.
independent thinker
September 4th, 2012
11:35 pm
I always wondered why Romney did the Palin number and never ran again for another term as governor of Mass. Thanks to Duvall Patrick I now know the voters would have given him the boot for his poor performance. Amazing how many Repubs flee from their elected positions because they screwed up- Newt, Deal, Palin, Romney, Nixon, to mention just a few.
I guess that is why the Repubs did not talk about his eaccomplishments as governor.
td
September 4th, 2012
11:41 pm
I think someone needs to educate the first lady of the fact that we live in a republic and not a democracy.
getalife
September 4th, 2012
11:58 pm
Oops, I did it again.
I will self ban for a week.
Karl Rove
September 5th, 2012
12:10 am
Those commie liberals had all those fake veterans and amputees up their to make it look like we do not care about the troops. Just because our folks are busy lying, cheating and outsourcing to make a buck doesn’t mean we are heartless . Just we do not have time for that grunt work if we are going be doing all that trickling down. I do not know why the Dems parade all those veterans up there – that is not the Ozzie and Harriet image we are trying to get across. Anyway we are the moneymakers and don’t have time for that military service business.Let the Dems clean up our messes.
Just remeber if you pass gas in a crowded room, blame some commie liberal.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 5th, 2012
5:37 am
Food-Stamp Use Climbs To Record, Reviving Campaign Issue
By Alan Bjerga – Sep 4, 2012 2:24 PM ET
Food-stamp use reached a record 46.7 million people in June, the government said, as Democrats prepare to nominate President Barack Obama for a second term with the economy as a chief issue in the campaign.
———————————
This is what a Democrat “recovery” looks like. More government dependency? Mission accomplished!
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 5th, 2012
6:17 am
Democrat recovery:
42 months of 8-10% unemployment
Zero job growth
$5 trillion in new debt
Record numbers on the dole
Lower credit rating
Family incomes down 7%
Tell Americans again what it is you want four more years of?
nelson
September 5th, 2012
7:06 am
HOT NEWS Switzerland ranked as the world’s most competitive economy for the 4th year running while the U.S. continued a 4 year slide down the table, the World Economic Forumn said in it’s annual survey.
That is a direct consequence of having unions that keep pushing prices up as a result of their continuous demands for benefits and higher and higher wages. They are lining up behind President Obama leading to more and more of the populace using food stamps[56.7 million in June].
JDW
September 5th, 2012
7:32 am
@LBB…”Tell Americans again what it is you want four more years of?”
Of course not! That why I refuse to give the Republicans another chance to do the same stuff that caused that mess.
JDW
September 5th, 2012
7:37 am
@Nelson…I think you are on to something! In Switzerland 25% of workers are unionized…today in the US its less than 15%. Now in the “good ole days” say 50 years ago 30% of US workers were unionized. Clearly the reduction in unionization has contribution to our horrible “uncompetitiveness”
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
7:56 am
JUST WOW!
If this guy will EASILY lie over his workouts, what will he also lie about?
“I had a two hour and fifty-something” marathon, Ryan said last week an interview. “I hurt a disc in my back, so I don’t run marathons anymore.”
But the Ryan campaign confirmed to Runner’s World that he has only run one marathon, the 1990 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, which he finished in just over 4 hours.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/paul-ryan-marathon-time_n_1848715.html
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
7:58 am
how utterly embarrassing!
Ryan makes all you Cons look like the FOOLS you are.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
7:59 am
I must THANK Mitt Romney!
Now we will see Ryan knocked out of the House as well.
Bachmann is the next nutjob we knock out of the House!
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
8:13 am
One recent poll showed Bachmann’s favorability rating among Minnesota voters at just 34 percent.
And the Minnesota congresswoman’s national base of conservative donors may be tiring of her pleas for money, as she carries a $1 million presidential campaign debt from her fumbled bid.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Tough Re-election Road Awaits Michele Bachmann
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama’s Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
8:28 am
The Paul Ryan Marathon time calculator:
http://www.paulryantimecalculator.com/?submitted=yes&time=2%3A03%3A25&distance=marathon&gender=m
Michael H. Smith
September 5th, 2012
8:34 am
Baghdad Brucie at again.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
8:36 am
Cons, today might be a good day to go into panic mode.
The sooner you start the sooner you can start hitting the meds.
Michael H. Smith
September 5th, 2012
8:41 am
Baghdad Brucie is already hitting the meds, very heavily too.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
8:47 am
Hey, Paul Ryan just got caught in another lie — about what he had for breakfast.
Does it ever end? Wonder what he used to sell his wife regarding himself as a husband?
Jose
September 5th, 2012
8:47 am
obama by the numbers
$5+ trillion national debt
15% unemployment
100+ golf rounds
160 fundraisers for his reelection
4 meeting for his JOBS COUNCIL
Just Saying..
September 5th, 2012
8:58 am
Will Ryan license the use of his marathon calculator for use in budgets?
The Party of Integrity…
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 5th, 2012
9:01 am
Are we better off than we were 4 years ago?
You mean 2008? When our President went on national TV and said “This sucker could go down”? Are we better off than that point in time?
Keep pulling that stuff out your rear ends, cons. Eventually something will stick to the wall.
And to think, it took a Socialist Muslim from Kenya to bring this country back from the brink of destruction where that drunk cowboy from Texas left us.
We Love Our Michelle - The FLOTUS with the Mostest
September 5th, 2012
9:03 am
She hit it OUT of the park.
BAM………………………..
Kapow……………………..
She made us proud.
We Love Our Michelle - The FLOTUS with the Mostest
September 5th, 2012
9:05 am
Michelle, ma belle
These are words that go together well
My Michelle
Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble
We love you, We love you, We love you
That’s all I want to say
Until I find a way
I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand
We love you, We love you, We love you
You make us so proud to be an american.
We Love Our Michelle - The FLOTUS with the Mostest
September 5th, 2012
9:07 am
Last night she OWNED the room.
She was very sincere.
She was very articulate.
She was very Michelle.
She made the liberals proud.
saywhat?
September 5th, 2012
9:12 am
Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
September 4th, 2012
10:15 pm
“Massachusetts judge rules for inmate’s sex-change surgery
By Pauline Kim, CNN
(CNN) — A federal court judge on Tuesday ordered Massachusetts officials to provide sex-reassignment surgery for a transsexual prison inmate, after determining that it was the only adequate treatment for the inmate’s mental illness.
————————–
This is the kind of nonsense that Democrats are campaigning for in Charlotte.
Is it any wonder that a country so far gone could elect an incompetent loser like Obozo?”
________________________________________
Don’t be jealous. Its unbecoming. If you want it for yourself, go get it.
fair and balanced
September 5th, 2012
9:23 am
Maybe Obama will talk about the insourcing buill that the Repubs refused to pass because it would cut off benefits for outsourcing by Bain and others,and whose fault is that?????????????
“”"”"”"”"”"Under existing law, employers may take tax deductions for the costs associated with moving jobs out of the country. The proposed legislation would have eliminated that, and used the resulting new revenue to fund a 20 percent tax credit for the costs companies run up “insourcing” labor back into the U.S.The bill failed by a 56-42. A count of 60 was required to end discussion and move to a final vote.To further push the issue, Democrats held a conference call with employees from Sensata Technologies, an electronics hardware manufacturer that plans to close its Freeport, Ill., plant at the end of the year and move those operations to China. Democrats say 150 people will be laid off in the process. Sensata, formerly known as the Sensors and Controls division of Texas Instruments, was spun off to Bain in 2006 for a reported $3 billion.”"”"”"”"”"”"
.http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/senate-kills-anti-outsourcing-bill-democrats-point-to-romney/
No conflicts of interest if Romney gets elected??????????. Just like Haliburton all over again. That blind trust thing doesn’t work too well Mitt if your wife is the trustee.
“There is no reason in the world this would not have passed except for so many of the Republican senators have other interests,” said Tom Gaulrupp, a 33-year veteran of the company.
Gaulrupp says there was never a year the company did not draw a profit. Another employee, Lin Feller, was more frank:
“They do not care about us. The average guy on the street, they just do not care about us.”
On the House floor this morning the ranking Republican member of the Senate finance committee called the bill “a joke,” suggesting President Obama’s campaign staff were its true authors.
David R. Boag, DDS
September 5th, 2012
9:57 am
Hey Mike @ 11:07 pm,
If that’s the case, should we start brushing up on our Chinese, because if the libs stay in charge that long, it will be a requirement by then.
You do realize that if the income taxes on “the rich” are increased significantly (which is where the progressives plan takes us) that instead of making an income, “the rich” will simply stop making $. They’ll close their businesses and those who used to work for them will be out of work and BOTH will be living off their savings and investments. When that happens, you can bet that the taxes will be increased on investment income substantially, and when that happens, “the rich” will protect their money and just live off of their savings like everyone else. Explain to me how this eventuality will benefit the lower 80%? Who do you think will last longer living off their savings?
You’ll be asking yourself:
我在想什么?
(What was I thinking?)
ragnar danneskjold
September 5th, 2012
10:24 am
We now see the full effect, such as it is, of three years of Obamanomics. We can expect more of the same. And, of course, doing the same thing and expecting different/better results is the way of the Democrats.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
September 5th, 2012
10:27 am
Check out who is lying now. AP says Obama programs are embellished dishonestly by Sebillius and others. CNN, about those 4.5 million jobs, Obama claims creating, well not exactly.
The truth usually finds its way out, in spite of everything. All of you self deluded people keep focusing on Ryan’s inaccurate marathon time and keep sipping the Koolaid. If you want to pretend the GOP lies, and the Dims spread the light of truth, you might be interested in a bridge for sale in Brooklyn.
Republican-appointed Massachusetts Judge
September 5th, 2012
10:31 am
Just wanted to point out the judge in Massachusetts that ruled the state must pay for a murderer’s sex change was appointed by President Reagan.