Thread: Who came out on top in the convention battle?

From the Guardian-

So, they're over. Party conventions may look fun on television, and sometimes they are, but it's nice to get home. Which party won the battle of the conventions? The scoring system is simple.

Conventions last four nights (by design at least, but more on this below). Each party gets one point for a successful night, half a point for a reasonably successful night, and a zero for a dud. So let's have a look.

Democrats, night one: The marquee speakers here were Ted Kennedy, the great liberal lion making what, God willing, was not his final public appearance in the wake of his cancer diagnosis, and Michelle Obama, the wife of the candidate. Kennedy's appearance was deeply moving for the delegates, and Michelle's talk was poised and folksy. On the downside, no theme was established. Half a point.
Republicans, night one: There was no night one. Hurricane Gustav intervened. Some wanted the GOP to forge ahead anyway, but US cable networks were wall-to-wall with hurricane footage and interviews, so it just would have looked strange. Acts of God aren't covered by insurance policies, so as we say in America, them's the breaks. No points.

Democrats, night two: Hillary Clinton was the featured player here. She delivered what most of the experts on television deemed a great speech but what I thought was merely a good one. Pro-Hillary and anti-Obama sentiment lingered in Denver into the next day. She did her job, but I say just half a point.
Republicans, night two: Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman were the speakers. It was conspicuous that an entire party with thousands of elected officials across America could find, to feature on this important night, only a man who is now out of work both as an actor and a politician (he ran a dreadful presidential campaign) and a former Democrat whose speeches are well known to be the next best thing to Mogadon. I've been to bingo games that were more exciting. Still, it's possible that Lieberman reached some independents, so half a point.

Democrats, night three: Here we had Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. The former president gave one of the finest speeches I've ever heard him give. The general consensus was that he did not only what was demanded - show delegates and viewers that he was fully behind the candidates - but went well beyond the bare minimum.
Biden could have blown his chance in the spotlight - he has a well-earned talky reputation - but was energetic and mostly on target. One point.
Republicans, night three: Finally, the GOP woke up. Rudy Giuliani did what he does best - attack the infidels, foreign and domestic - and then Sarah Palin delivered her zingerfest.
Early signs were that her bombast was not a hit with independent voters, but she certainly electrified the hall. One point.

Democrats, night four: Obama's Invesco Field speech before 84,000 avoided all the cult-of-personality pitfalls the pundits warned against. And he managed to be specific and clear on his plans.
For me, "We need a president who puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney" remains the best single line from either convention. One point.
Republicans, night four: Sigh. John McCain. His speech was dreadful. I mean, irresponsibly bad. Rhetorical malpractice, given the prominence of the forum and the opportunity it presented. But hey, he's the nominee. Give him half a point for getting through it without making any mistakes.

Total: Democrats 3, Republicans 2.

We can't really know until the middle of next week, when polls will appear telling us whether the GOP got its bounce.

But I think most observers would agree that the Democrats won this skirmish. However, conventions are just the end of the middle phase. They still have many promises to keep, and miles to go before they sleep.

US election: Scoring the Democratic and Republican conventions | World news | The Guardian

I find the Guardians summation pretty objective.

The highlights of the Conventions, for me, were-

Bill Clintons speech- A masterpiece, and I am sure very well received by the Democrat faithful. A gracious, unifying message after what had been a fractious campaign in many quarters. Bill Clinton has still got the magic- Kudos.

Sarah Palins speech- pretty much her first public appearance since the shock announcement of her VP candidacy, she faced a chasm of doubt. She performed magnificently- and made a speech that went directly to the 'Middle Americans' that I think her candidacy was meant to target. Well done Sarah.

Obamas speech- almost anticlimactic to say this- OBi is known as a great orator and an electrifying speaker. He surpassed expectations, when it mattered most.

The Lowpoint-

John McCains speech- Well, we can't all be great orators and John McCain is the Pits. His whiny voice, his sneery smile, his total lack of intonation. Whatever it takes John, you ain't got it. I managed to get through about ten minutes of this aural torture on Youtube.


Neither Convention could be described as a failure, and I think credit should also be given to the Republicans because of the somewhat demanding circumstances at the beginning with hurricane Gustav. I think there are some mightily relieved people in the GOP party machine.

Originally Posted by chinthee

I think I would agree and give an edge to the Dems, especially in light of Obama's historic speech, generally considered the best of either convention; and McCain's lame speech - a real let down.

Agree as it relates directly to the conventions. In a couple of weeks, the conventions and the hoopla will be a fading memory as will the Palin/Biden hoopla. It is now mano on mano between McCain and Obama. Both VPs will be relegated to campaigning in non critical states. The Presidential candidates will be the ones spending their time and money in the battleground swing states.

Originally Posted by chinthee

^Norton, I agree, and all this hoopla about VPs is crap. Remember that VPs fade into the background as far as influencing who people really vote for. It's got to be a slugfest between McCain and Obama now. Should be good.

Agree.

Lot of coffee house talk about this new good looking person from Alaska. Election is 2 months away, and post-conventions bumps may or may not even out. Could be very close election population-wise.

Electoral college? We'll have to see the movie, live, on November 2.

Will the US remain polarized no matter who wins? Darn right it will be, IMO.

Overall I would say that the Dems did better. For me the best speech was from Palin. Not sure which speech I would rank highest of the Dems – possibly Hillary.

We won’t know for sure who got the biggest bump until some more polls come out after folks have had time to digest. Unless someone really flubs something, or some real dirt is revealed, the next chance to shake up the polls with be the debates.