With something approaching closure behind it, the Democratic Convention proper begins today. Hillary Clinton’s speech last night was simultaneously impressive and uninteresting. Not creating interest was its job, and it succeeded. No hint of being less than 100% loyal. No thinly or thickly veiled jibes about who the real choice should have been. No hostages to talk show talking points. As a result this morning’s front pages all speak of unity. Job Done.
And yet the sense that this convention hasn’t moved beyond third gear remains. On the one hand all of the speeches that matter - Teddy Kennedy, Michelle Obama, and Clinton herself - have been as good, or better, than could have been expected. On the other, none have managed properly to lay out either a vision for Obama’s presidency, or offer up a new critique of the Republicans. The latter point was especially evident in supporting speeches last night. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer had the evening’s only good line - “we simply can’t drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain’s backyards, including the ones he can’t even remember”. But that apart, pickings were thin. Former Virgina Governor Mark Warner, once fancied as a potential presidential candidate himself, delivered a long-winded and often bafflingly incoherent speech, which i’d hazard a guess was meant to be about the economy. None of the other speakers managed to move their contributions beyond platitudes. All were ignored by a crowd more intent on talking with each other than listening to the stage. More worrying for the Democrats, none managed to come up with fresh or interesting way to biff their opponents. The lines seemed stale. “We can’t afford more of the same” and “John McCain is out of touch”, may well be the right messages, but they were delivered last night by politicians on autopilot. None shed the impression that something isn’t quite clicking.
Which brings us to Joe Biden’s speech, later tonight. After two days of throat clearing his delicate task is both to to drip foreign policy gravitas, and bring a new zing to lacklustre attempts to attack McCain. Including a hint of the campaign’s slightly mysterious economic message - again picked up in the New York Times this morning - would be an added bonus. Yet Biden’s position is trickier still. Given the option, my sense is that the campaign would rather not have picked a running mate at all. This campaign is fundamentally and personally about Obama - his charisma, his embodiment of a new future, his now familiar message off change. Biden was in many ways a deeply conservative choice of running mate, and as yet it isn’t clear how he fits. So, he must try to craft a role for himself too - as a gaffe-free mix of elder statesman and attack dog, who adds something to the ticket without distracting from a campaign whose strategy, for better or worse, is Obama-centred.
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