BREAKING – Due to severe Charlotte weather forecasts, President Obama's prime-time Thursday night convention speech will be moved indoors, from the Bank of America Stadium to the Time Warner Cable Arena. The Obama campaign had hoped to relive the glory of the 2008 campaign by drawing 75,000 people to the outdoor stadium speech.
DNC vs. RNC – Charlotte Energy Tops Tampa – (via Politico) – "Among journalists, one thing was clear about the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night: It was a lot more energetic than anyone expected it to be. On CNN, David Gergen said, “Enthusiasm in the hall is more palpable than the Republican convention.” Politico's Alex Burns @aburnspolitico: "Just a huge difference in energy between Tampa and Charlotte convention halls. Makes it easier for non-primetime speakers to sound strong."
How the Speeches Played – In an address that will go down as one of the great political speeches of our time, First Lady Michelle Obama dazzled the DNC Convention crowd with a moving address which emphasized the Obamas' personal backstory and her husband Barack's life-long commitment to helping others. (Read 7 highlights from the speech here) Key quote: "He’s the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work … because for Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives. I see the concern in his eyes ... and I hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, “You won’t believe what these folks are going through, Michelle … it’s not right. We’ve got to keep working to fix this. We’ve got so much more to do.” I see how those stories – our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams – I see how that’s what drives Barack Obama every single day. And I didn’t think it was possible, but today, I love my husband even more than I did four years ago … even more than I did 23 years ago, when we first met."
Politico's @DylanByers: "Wolf Blitzer: "The First Lady not hitting a home run, but probably a grand slam." CNN's David Gergen: "If they have two more nights like this, they can probably break this race open." NBC's Chuck Todd: "Michelle Obama owned this convention in a way that no speaker owned the convention in Tampa." NY Times' @MichaelLuo: Forget Condi v. Hillary. Maybe Intrade should be placing odds on Condi v. Michelle.
Fun Twitter Fact: Michelle Obama garnered nearly double the tweets-per-minute during her speech than GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Michelle's speech peaked at 28,003 tweets per minute, while Romney's peaked at 14,289.
Don't forget about San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who delivered a historic speech of his own, serving as the first Latino keynote speaker at the DNC Convention. Castro highlighted his unlikely rise in public service from a Mexican immigrant family as evidence that the American Dream is still thriving. The 37-year-old mayor is being hailed as a rising star on par with Obama from 2004.And that's exactly what Republicans want you to believe. The Romney campaign has responded to Castro's speech by claiming that after four years in office, Obama's "post-partisan rhetoric" from 2004 has been replaced by a "seek-and-destroy effort," leaving the reader to wonder if the same will happen to Castro. (Read 5 highlights from Castro's speech here) Key quote: "When it comes to expanding access to good health care, Mitt Romney says, 'No.' Actually, Mitt Romney said, 'Yes,' and now he says, 'No.' Governor Romney has undergone an extreme makeover, and it ain't pretty."
After the stir that Clint Eastwood caused at the RNC, Dems countered with a celebrity of their own to deliver a more light-hearted and youth-focused speech on Tuesday, Harold and Kumar star Kal Penn, who has been serving in the Obama administration as the White House liaison to young people. He concluded with a four-letter word for all young people: VOTE. "You don't even have to put pants on." Penn's speech made the rounds on Twitter, but it was not necessarily well-received. See the top 5 Twitter reactions here.
Light on Facts? (via NPR) "Democrats Unleash Some "Dubious or Misleading Claims," Fact Checkers Say."
How the Candidates Spent Their Tuesday – Mitt Romney spent the day holed up at the home of advisor Kerry Healey, who served as his lieutenant governor in Massachusetts, preparing for his upcoming presidential debates in October. If last night's DNC video tribute to Ted Kennedy is any judge, Romney's got some work to do if he's going to take-down Obama on prime-television. President Obama watched his wife Michelle's speech on television from the White House with daughters Sasha and Malia (the girls are preparing for their first week of school).
Looking Ahead to Tonight – Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren will deliver a 12-minute speech that offers her a crucial opportunity to make the case to Massachusetts voters as to why she deserves their vote over Senator Scott Brown. She will portray herself as a fighter who "stood strong" on behalf of the middle class to create a consumer protection agency during the financial crisis. Ahead of the speech, the Bay State GOP has prepared a web video with residents of the Cherokee Indian reservation, three hours from Charlotte, which complains about her claim to Native American ancestry. Watch here.
All eyes will be on former President Bill Clinton as he reclaims the national spotlight to make the case for President Obama's re-election. Conservatives are gearing up for their attack on President Obama despite the beloved president's endorsement: (via WSJ) "So as Mr. Clinton tries to lay hands on Mr. Obama and rewrite the history of the 1990s, the real story isn't how much policy the two Democrats have in common. What matters is what they did differently. Bill Clinton learned from the mistakes of his first two years. Mr. Obama has doubled down on his — and, on all available evidence, he will double down again if he's re-elected."
Wednesday Schedule – Here's tonight's schedule:
- 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
- 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank
- 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Attorney General of California Kamala Harris, women's rights activist Sandra Fluke
- 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM: Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, former President Bill Clinton
Live Blog Central – Follow all the speeches and action on Day 2 of the DNC Convention with our amazing team of PolicyMic live bloggers: John Doble, Lena Kheir, Mythili Sampathkumar, Grant Ferowich, and Lee Storrow bring you everything you need to know. Big prizes will go out to the live blogger with the most views, so choose your favorite!
Top PolicyMic Stories – Bill Clinton DNC Speech Offers No Risk, Only Reward for Obama Campaign (Siv Cheruvu) – Here's why Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention can only help President Obama's reelection chances.
Nancy Keenan is Wrong: Why President Obama Cannot Safeguard the Right to Choose (Sam Meier) – Despite Nancy Keenan's passionate endorsement of Obama at the DNC, the President cannot directly intervene in the forty year fight over abortion rights in America.
Kal Penn Sexy Face Speech at DNC is Pathetic, Compared to Clint Eastwood (Abdul Siddiqui) – With Clint Eastwood's support of Mitt Romney fresh in the minds of many viewers, Kal Penn isn't a good choice to make a celebrity appearance at DNC 2012.
Nicki Minaj Spits Rhymes for Romney, But That Doesn't Mean She's Voting for Him (Elena Sheppard) – The media jumped on Nicki Minaj's pro-Romney lyrics, but the truth is we can't take her rhymes at face value.
What We're Reading: The inherent sexism in a spouse's speech (NY Times, tip-off: Sam Meier); Obama vs. Romney on 14 top science questions (Scientific American); Capturing them at home: War photographer trains lens on military suicide (The Daily Beast); Science debunks the organic fantasy garden (Real Clear Science); Crime and religious beliefs appear to go hand in hand (The Economist).
