Our four-day national nightmare is 25% over. Unlike many of my braver and more industrious colleagues, I didn’t make it out to Denver this week. So like most of you, I’m enjoying/enduring the DNC via the television coverage. Here are some thoughts on day one as we wait for Invesco. 1) I guess the consensus is that Michelle Obama did well last night. The word “homerun” is getting bandied about in many quarters. I didn’t see it that way. True, on some levels she did well. She managed to speak for 22 whole minutes without once channeling William Ayers. She also came across as an undeniably impressive, likable figure. But unless Team Barry’s pollsters showed Michelle having a toxic reputation and costing the ticket votes, the whole exercise seems purposeless. Yes, she bumped up her Q Rating, but to what end? Does anyone actually cast their vote based on which potential first lady they prefer? (Well, maybe that happened during the Clinton years, but those days are fortunately behind us.) It must be said that the Obama girls were adorable. Perfect. Even this Republican curmudgeon’s heart melted when they greeted their Daddy on the huge video screen. Speaking of their daddy, what’s up with him? He couldn’t even talk to his daughters without littering his brief comments with a profusion of “ums” and misspeaking, urging the girls to “take care of the girls.” Extemporaneous speaking has never been his strength, but it now appears he has lost all confidence when letting it fly without a teleprompter. 2) Then optics of the night were all off. Even as touching as the tribute to Ted Kennedy was, the evening focused too much on an inglorious Democratic past. We got a heaping helping of Kennedy, Carter, and Kerry. This was an odd stew for the Democrats to serve when they’ve gathered to push a nominee who with his very presence fairly screams “future.” Regardless of your feelings for these fellows, Barack Obama and his campaign have nothing to do with them. It’s hard to see how having John Kerry offer tributes to Ted Kennedy is going to win Barack Obama a single swing vote or soften a lone PUMA’s heart. The Democrats had four nights to push a narrative. They wasted the first one. And with tonight certain to be dominated by Clintonian melodramas, 50% of their convention is all but officially squandered. Lucky for them they have the gifted Joe Biden poised to pick up the pieces on Wednesday. 3) There were a lot of shots of Joe Biden last night. Here’s what I don’t get about him: He was virtually bald 20 years ago, and then took some sort of corrective action. And yet he apparently limited the corrective action to a small portion of his crown. If he was going to go with plugs, why didn’t he cover his whole head? It’s my job to ask the tough questions, so here’s one: Can we afford to have a man who showed such erratic judgment a heartbeat away from the presidency? 4) The candidate who helped himself the most last night was John McCain who made a winning appearance on the Tonight Show. Almost with every passing day, he’s looking more presidential as Barack Obama’s stature shrinks. 5) On a related note, today’s Rasmussen tracking numbers do show a bounce – for McCain. He’s picked up three points since yesterday. The race is once again tied.
