The Republican National Convention in Tampa brought fresh reminders that even carefully choreographed political events don’t always go according to plan.
Hurricane Isaac threatened to cancel the whole affair, Ron Paul supporters stirred up trouble on the convention floor — and Clint Eastwood stole headlines from Mitt Romney by conducting a rambling interview with an imaginary President Barack Obama
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Here are POLITICO’s five potential landmines facing President Barack Obama and Democrats as they gather in Charlotte.
Hurricane Bill
Bill Clinton is starring in a new Obama campaign TV ad, but he’s made it clear in the past he doesn’t take his talking points from the Obama campaign — he’s even said so explicitly.
Clinton’s got a prime-time speaking slot on Wednesday night, but Charlotte will be full of chances for him to freelance on camera or speak just a bit too candidly about Obama. Republicans will be ready to pounce on Clinton if he credits himself instead of Obama for positives, or expresses doubts about an Obama proposal. And then there’s the possibility Clinton could suggest support for a Republican plan, like he seemed to in June regarding the competing proposals over extending the Bush tax cuts.
Already, Romney’s campaign has sought to stoke the old divide between the Obama and Clinton camps by pouncing on every Clinton statement remotely praising Romney. They’ve used a graphic featuring a red-faced Hillary Clinton with the words “Shame on you, Barack Obama” from her infamous 2008 press conference, and last week it launched a website commemorating Clinton’s comment, noting Romney’s “sterling business career.”
