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Friday, September 7, 2012

Why Tampa Flopped: Hatred is Not a Movement

      The Democratic Convention simply crushed the RNC. That's not even close. No one is claiming that the GOP set the world on fire last week in Tampa. The Democrats in Charlotte on the other hand certainly did set the world on fire.

     Just listen to Michelle Obama, or Ted Strickland, or VP Joe Biden, or Jennifer Granholm. Listen to the President last night speak out for FDR's bold experimentation. I like that he went there as this is who the GOP is really running against anyway-it's who they are always really running against.

     The GOP has never been so brazen as this election. With all their talk about Americans being "ready" for what they call "tough choices" what they really are wagering on is that Americans will finally vote against FDR 90 years later.

     The passion was palatable in Charlotte. Where was it in Tampa? The big problem is that Romney came in needing to set the world on fire in Tampa. That didn't happen-though he did burn his own hands a few times-like when Clint lost that debate to the empty chair.

      With all the talk about an enthusiasm gap for the President this year, the conventions belied this. What we saw is that we Democrats love our President-as many signs in the audience proclaimed. We are very enthusiastic. In some ways as Clinton said, the President deserves more respect and admiration than he did 4 years ago.

      He's actually been on the firing line now. In Clinton's mind, he's now a made man.

      No one can doubt that the Republicans hate this President with every fiber of their being. But just what kind of election strategy is this, much less what kind of governing strategy is it?

     Not much as Politico shows us:

     "It doesn’t dictate who will win. But the Democrats put on a better convention."

     "Not every metric here is the same. Republicans did the best they could under some trying circumstances, including a hurricane, a candidate to whom the base has warmed slowly, and a city with logistical hurdles for such a large-scale event."

     "For all the talk — and polling data — showing an enthusiasm gap on the Democratic side, the partisans in the Time Warner Arena were fired up. The energy in the hall was real. The delegates stayed in their seats and listened attentively."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/80902.html#ixzz25mqyq3M2

    Listen to Politico's Roger Simon:

    "I wrote a few days ago that if the Democrats could maintain the enthusiasm they showed on the first day of their convention for all three days, Mitt Romney would be in serious trouble."

    "They did, and he is"

    "If this is not what the polls currently show, try to remember that polls are not destiny. And you should not let them shape it."

    "Democratic enthusiasm - - real fire-in-the-belly enthusiasm - - is a killer for Romney for one big reason: There is no sizable pro-Romney movement in this country. There has been a sizable anti-Obama movement.
There are relatively few Republicans deeply in love with Romney. (I except his family, friends and paid staff.)"

    And, as he's quick to remind us-his fraternity. Ie, he's an insular, provincial man, a throwback to an aristocratic age, more a British duke than an American President.

    "His campaign is fueled by dislike for and disappointment with Barack Obama. That dislike and disappointment is real."

    However:

    "Anger is not a movement. Disappointment is not a cause. And passionate support is an antidote to both.
    This convention shows who has the passionate support and who's trying to make anger a movement.

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