Opinion

sg-DNC-Opinion

Filler: Obama's speech 'schooled' Romney's

Filler: Barack Obama's speech 'schooled' Mitt Romney's

obama dnc - crop

One morning during a meeting last week in <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a>, Fla., <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> strategist <a href="/topics//Frank_Luntz">Frank Luntz</a> gave the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican Party</a> a painting of former President <a href="/topics//Ronald_Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a>. 
 The portrait of the conservative icon sat in front of the podium in the ballroom of the hotel where the state delegation was staying. In speech after speech from the likes of state party chairman Edward Cox, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and House Speaker <a href="/topics//John_Boehner">John Boehner</a>, there were references to <a href="/topics//Ronald_Reagan">Reagan</a>: on the economy, <a href="/topics//Unemployment">unemployment</a> and <a href="/topics//Iran">Iran</a>, to name a few. 
 But the most memorable Reaganism was his famous remark during a debate with President <a href="/topics//Jimmy_Carter_(boxer)">Jimmy Carter</a>: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" 
 We're hearing it a lot these days. 
 <a href="/topics//Paul_Ryan">Paul Ryan</a> asked it. So did Mitt <a href="/topics//Mitt_Romney">Romney</a>. 
 The simple answer: We are better off. But how quickly we can forget. 
 Four years ago, the housing market imploded. Financial markets plunged after the subprime mortgage crisis. Lehman Brothers collapsed. The U.S. auto industry was on the verge of failure and the government took control of mortgage <a href="/topics//New_York_Giants">giants</a> <a href="/topics//Fannie_Mae">Fannie Mae</a> and Freddie Mac. President George W. Bush pushed for a $700-billion economic stimulus package that was eventually approved. We were fighting wars on two fronts, in <a href="/topics//Iraq">Iraq</a> and Afghanistan. U.S. combat forces left <a href="/topics//Iraq">Iraq</a> in 2011. 
 Former President Bill <a href="/topics//Bill_Clinton">Clinton</a> on Wednesday covered many of these areas during his 48-minute speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., and answered that gnawing question to thunderous applause. 
 "When President Barack Obama took office, the economy was in free fall. It had just shrunk 9 full percent of GDP. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month," <a href="/topics//Hillary_Rodham_Clinton">Clinton</a> said. "Are we doing better than that today? The answer to that is yes." 
 At a campaign stop in downtown Detroit earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden summed it in simple terms: "You want to know whether we're better off? I've got a little bumper sticker for you: 'Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.'" 
 To be clear, things are better, but we're not where we want, or need, them to be. Not on jobs, education, energy or even our place in the world. 
 The economy is improving, but there's still a way to go. Gasoline prices remain high, wages are stagnant and <a href="/topics//Unemployment">unemployment</a> is hovering around 8.3 percent. An estimated 12.8 million people are still out of work. 
 Those people aren't better off. And maybe that's the <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> goal -- to attract disaffected voters. But that won't solve their problems. 
 In the remaining eight weeks of this campaign, the candidates must present more than their vision for America. We need to hear a real path to getting the economy humming, on stable ground and getting people back to work, among so many other challenges. 
 The "better off" question worked for <a href="/topics//Ronald_Reagan">Reagan</a> more than three decades ago. 
 It won't work for Romney. If <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> want a <a href="/topics//Mitt_Romney">Romney</a> Revolution, they are going to have to start asking different questions -- and then have some answers. 
 Gerald McKinstry is a member of the Newsday editorial board.

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WOPMCK06

McKinstry: Are we better off than in 2008? The answer is yes

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Watching the Democratic and Republican conventions this year is a lot like catching those infomercials that dominate television programing here in Charlotte just before dawn. 
 You know, the ones that promise the Veggo-Monster will chop, dice and slice vegetables like no other food processor the world has ever seen; or insist that if you just buy the Flab-Buster exercise machine you’ll soon have the tight, toned body of an Olympic athlete. 
 The pitch comes with testimonials from people who assure you they love it, recommend it and would buy it again. They throw in a little swag free of charge, and then comes the hard sell. Sound familiar? 
 If you listen long enough it’s hard to resist buying. No doubt that’s what Democrats and Republicans hope will happen for them. 
 Conventions promise their tickets are the best for what ails you and the nation. Elect them and you’ll be on the road to a happier, richer life. The economy will roar, jobs will materialize, your kids will learn and the world will love and fear the United States like never before. 
 But unlike blowing a few bucks for the Vego-Monster or Flab-Buster electing a president is serious business. Particularly this year with the future of the American middle class is at stake. 
 And with presidents, there’s no money-back guarantee. So a little policy substance would be a good thing. 
 Pictured above: Karen Yarbrough, a delegate from <a href="/topics//Illinois">Illinois</a>, gestures in front of the giant electronic stage backdrop before the start of day one at the <a href="/topics//Democratic_National_Convention">Democratic National Convention</a> in Charlotte, N.C. (Sept. 4, 2012) 
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Bessent: DNC, RNC like watching late-night infomercials

Bessent: Speeches at the DNC, RNC are like watching late-night infomercials

DNC 2012

11:34 p.m. - Overall, the evening was a good one for the Democrats. The industry leaders were weak as speakers but convincing as people. Elizabeth Warren made a lot of friends with a heartfelt speech that preached nothing more than looking out for the little guy and trying to control the natural tendency of big concerns to become voracious. 
 Clinton was wonderful, as he always is, but he would have been far more wonderful if he stuck to the 28 minutes he was supposed to take rather than going on for a full 48 minutes. 
 I'd say an A-, if only because so many of the assertions Clinton made are going to be so hard for the Republicans to repudiate. They're mostly just facts, or as Clinton would say, "arithmetic." 
 11:29 p.m. - The crowd is still fired up as Villaraigosa returns to finish off the evening. No one watches it at home, but there is always a benediction, and the retiring of the color guard. 
 The LA mayor gets the whole crowd cheering as he asks them to second the nominations of Obama, along with him. 
 And they're going to the roll call of the states. 
 11:26 p.m. - The two walk off together, first with Obama's arm around Clinton, then they separate to wave to the crowd. 
 And the crowd continues to cheer, as Tom Petty's "I won't back down," plays, as if the two men could be convinced to do an encore if they cheer loudly enough. 
 11:24 p.m. - Clinton is getting exhausted, too. His delivery is faltering a bit, but he's trying to get the energy back. 
 "Double down on trickle down" is a fairly effective slam on Romney/Ryan. 
 Want a "We're all in this together society," Clinton asks. Support Obama. 
 And he's going to end not on Obama, but on America, its resilience, and its strength. Now he's going for the peak and he has it. 
 And as Obama appears the audience goes truly wild. 
 11:18 p.m. - Is it possible the audience is getting a bit exhausted? Do they have visions of martinis and cigarettes dancing in their head. Clinton probably needs to wrap this up. 
 But will he? This is the man who spoke for so long at the 1988 DNC that people were falling alseep. 
 11:17 p.m - Clinton seems personally offended by the Republican assertion that Obama is trying to strip the work requirement from the welfare rules Clinton signed. 
 So he's parsing it for the audience. 
 Well, not parsing exactly. He says it's just a flat lie, and that the recipients are working more. 
 Turning the Republicans "We're not going to let our campaign be run by fact checkers" back at them, and he's doing it well. 
 And on to the debt, and problems it will bring when the economy improves and interest rates go up. 
 Bobbles the math a bit, but he got his point across on the ratio of cuts to tax increases in the Obama deficit reduction plan. 
 What did Clinton bring to Washington to balance the budget? "Arithmetic." Instant tweet fodder. 
 11:11 p.m. - Clinton just hates not being president. He's done the best he can to move past it, but you can tell he just wants to grab the wheel and drive this sucker, rather than just giving directions from the backseat. 
 And in the great William Jefferson Clinton tradition, he's going to go long with this speech. This time it's all right, they don't want him to stop. 
 11:08 p.m. - Clinton seems to be starting his build to the finish of the speech. 
 He's making a fascinating point about how Obama's changes on student loans could convince bright people to take important jobs with mediocre pay. 
 And now to health care. 
 Nobody can get people to listen to wonky policy facts like Clinton. It was always one of his great talents, and practically every other Democrat who's spoken over the past two days has failed at it. 
 Reduction in the rate of health care expense increases gets applause. 
 Clinton is now debunking the Ryan $716 billion Obama cuts to Medicare story. He's right that Obama never cut any services to Medicare in Obamacare. But it is worth pointing out no one has ever made any headway in getting the cuts in compensation to service providers that Obama says will pay the $716 billion. 
 So neither side is blameless. The Republicans are lying. The Democrats are just blindly optimistic. 
 "It takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did," Clinton says, referencing Ryan's own $716 billion Medicare cut. 
 Likely to be one of the top lines of the speech. 
 11:01 p.m. - The rest is just details: What Obama did succeed in doing, which is largely incremental but important. The auto bailout. The effect it had on related suppliers. 
 Getting into some audience call and response with the word "zero" in response to what Romeny would have accomplished in each situation, as opposed to Obama. 
 The Associated Press has confirmed Obama will join Clinton on stage, something most of the audience likely doesn't know. 
 It will be fascinating to see the level of response for the president. 
 When Romney joined his wife on stage in Tampa, the crowd response was surprisingly tepid. 
 10:56 p.m. - Clinton asks "Are we better off than when he took office," to tumultuous yeses. 
 And he's going to assess the Democratic challenge, dealing with the pain and anger of those who are still failing in this economy. 
 Clinton just can't resist patting himself on the back along the way. 
 And he makes the primary assertion Democrats will have to sell if they want to win this thing: that no president living or dead could have fixed the mess Obama inherited in just four years. 
 That, along with some sort of plan for how to govern going forward, has to be nearly the entire campaign for the Democrats. 
 10:52 p.m. - This crowd is constantly on the edge of a standing ovation. They can be set off by a well-placed comma at this point. 
 The really big moment, it's rumored, is going to be when Obama joins Clinton on stage at the end of the speech. 
 Now he's going to make fun of the Tampa RNC. 
 Clinton gets a laugh asserting that the GOP's platform is "We left Obama a mess, he didn't clean it up fast enough, put us back in." 
 And that he definitely learned they all love their families, and are proud to be Americans. 
 Borrows Ronald Reagan's famous line, saying "There they go again." 
 10:47 p.m. - Clinton says Obama is still committed to constructive cooperation, and points to Joe Biden, Obama's opponent in the 2008 primaries. As well as Hilary's appointment. Gets huge applause when he says his wife's name. 
 10:45 p.m. - Stressing the bipartisan nature of things, the good things the Bushes, Reagan and Eisenhower have done. The crowd doesn't love those names, but it's a good move to be gracious in that way. And it's moral to recognize those presidents did good things. 
 Clinton is so much more comfortable taking a really long pause than most speakers, he'll stand up there quiet all day until he gets the vibe he wants. 
 On a side note, his hands seem to be shaking a bit. 
 10:41 p.m. - Clinton is now on Tampa and the RNC. He calls the Republican narrative an alternate universe. 
 He's also so practiced at this that you could almost believe he was ad libbing if you didn't know better. 
 And now he's running the numbers on Democratic presidents versus Republicans, the track record. 
 As well as the moral argument for the Democratic platform, and the strong middle class. 
 10:37 p.m. - He's trying to settle this rowdy crowd so he can speak. 
 It's Obama idolatry to lead off. 
 You forget just how good a speaker he always was. Measured, manipulative, with flawless timing and an easy smile. 
 And he's smart enough to give a huge shout out to Michelle. 
 10:34 p.m. - Clinton looks great. 
 Clinton, 66, was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993-2001. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Yale Law School and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Clinton, twice served as governor of Arkansas. He is married to Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton. Although he was dogged by the Monica Lewinsky scandal while in office, he is revered for the budget surpluses generated during his presidency and his moderate ability to work with Republicans in Washington. Since he left office, he has pursued a series of social causes, fighting AIDS and global warming internationally through his William J. Clinton Foundation. 
 While the relationship between Clinton and President Barack Obama has not always been warm, particularly when Hilary was running against Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008, insiders say they have since warmed to each other somewhat. Clinton’s popularity and fundraising prowess and considered necessities if Obama is to retain the White House in November.&nbsp; 
 10:33 p.m. - And it looks like it will be a Clinton video, followed by the man himself. 
 I think the crowd is ready to nominate Clinton instead of Obama. 
 10:32 p.m. - Antonio Villaraigosa is now on to do the whole nomination dance. 
 Villaraigosa, 59, is the mayor of Los Angeles, a job post has held since 2005. He previously served in the California State Assembly and on the LA City Council. Before that, he worked as a labor organizer. He attended UCLA and the “People’s College of Law,” but does not practice, as he has failed to pass the bar repeatedly. In the kind of move that makes conservatives smirk, he was born Antonio Villar, but changed his last name to Villaraigosa when he married Corina Raigosa. 
 10:31 p.m. - Warren seems to have hit her high point mid-speech, but maybe she can bring it back. 
 Now she's remembering Ted Kennedy, whose old Senate seat she is looking to take. Probably trying to resonate with her Massachusetts voters, which is a national priority for the Democratic Party. 
 And she ends with a clarion call to the audience to work, strive and fight to get Obama reelected. 
 10:26 p.m. - Warren's opponent, Scott Brown, spoke at the RNC, and did so-so. Warren is doing better, I think, because she so clearly is speaking from the heart, and on issues about which she has a great deal of knowledge. 
 It's like she's talking to her children across the kitchen table. She has no particular talent as a speaker, yet it works on sincerity alone. And because the government really does need to either oversee the big banks or make it clear they won't, so investors can wisely flee or force them to be more prudent. 
 Warren gets her biggest cheers outlining the differences between corporations and people. Which is great fodder, but doesn't make as much sense as people would like to think. Corporations aren't people, but their stockholders and employees are, and they have all the rights of people, of speech and all else, even when combined into a group of individuals called a corporation. 
 10:20 p.m. - It's her first DNC, which is kind of amazing. She can't speak for the chants of "Warren Warren Warren." 
 Finally gets the crowd settled down and starts talking about her specialty, consumers, average people, and says the game is rigged against them. 
 Says her family was "on the ragged edge of the middle class." Great line. 
 The theme that speakers only want to ensure people have the opportunities they have has been a constant, at both conventions. Both parties seem to be entirely convinced they are the ones who can guarantee that, via very different paths. 
 That's really what this election is about at the bottom, which vision people believe can deliver that. 
 10:16 p.m. - And now, it's not the one they've been waiting for, but it's the one they've almost been waiting for. Elizabeth Warren enters to raucous applause. 
 Warren, 63, is a Harvard Law School professor currently seeking Ted Kennedy’s old seat in the U.S. Senate (currently held by her opponent, Republican Scott Brown). Warren attended Brown University and Georgetown Law School. 
 She is an expert on bankruptcy law and personal finance and was instrumental in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren also chaired the panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Filler: Clinton runs long, but delivers strong message

Filler: Bill Clinton runs long, but hammers home the Democrats message

151132389MB00493_Democratic

Lane Filler's live blog of Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton's speeches <a href="/opinion/viewsday-1.3683911/live-blog-bill-clinton-and-elizabeth-warren-at-the-democratic-national-convention-1.3956029">continues here.</a> 
 10:12 p.m. - Sinegal has an impressive story. You rarely hear a bad word about Costco. They have great benefits and pay, great products, and great value. 
 And people do appreciate their corporate values. I can't count the number of people I know who switched from Sam's Club to Costco as soon as a Costco popped up close enough to shop at. 
 Sinegal, perhaps a little technophobically, is reading from notes rather than the teleprompter. It looks very odd to see a speaker looking down rather than at the camera. 
 But public speaking isn't really his gig, and who can blame him. 
 10:08 p.m. - Fluke is recalling panel on contraception before Congress that did not include a single woman. 
 Two possible futures, she says, one of which hearkens back to a darker past. 
 Fluke is getting good response from the floor, a bit less from the upper rows. This is her first time speaking in such a huge setting, and she's doing well, but she's not a natural. And the crowd is feeling more and more anticipation about the speakers soon to come, particularly Bill Clinton. 
 It is now the 10 o'clock hour, and primtetime conventioning will soon begin. 
 But first, Jim Sinegal must speak. he's now at the podium. 
 Sinegal, 76, is the co-founder and former CEO of Costco. That company is considered, in the retail world, to treat its employees unusually well, and generally be a great corporate citizen. I personally shop there all the time, for what that’s worth. 
 10:01 p.m. - And now, the recently and continuingly famous Sandra Fluke. 
 Fluke, 31, is an attorney and women’s rights activist who first found fame testifying before Congress on birth control and health insurance. 
 Really, she first found fame when conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh called her a “slut” in response to her testimony, and demanded that society, if Fluke is provided birth control via health insurance in response to Obamacare, should be able to watch videos of her having sex. 
 10:00 p.m. - This is an important speech, but a wonky one, and the crowd is so so on it. 
 Van Hollen says Romney/Ryan have an "obsession" with tax breaks for the wealthy. 
 And he hearkens back to George W. Bush as the reason things have gone so badly with the economy. 
 Growing the economy "from the middle out" is a theme that they're trying to get some traction with. 
 9:56 p.m. - Van Hollen is focusing on the Republicans and their statements at the RNC. 
 Says they should have pointed to the debt clock showing $16 trillion and proclaimed "We built that." 
 He's going down the line of where the bulk of thedebt came from, Medicare Part D, tax cuts and the wars. 
 It's actually fairly hard to argue with this line of Democratic reasoning. It's very hard to see how Obama could have reduced the annual deficit significantly in the current climate. 
 9:53 p.m. - Next up, Chris Van Hollen. 
 Van Hollen, 53, has represented Maryland in the House of Representative since 2003. He was the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (a position now held by Long Island’s own Steve Israel) when the party lost its majority in the House in 2010. 
 He also served on the 12-member bipartisan Committee on Deficit Reduction, which famously did not a darned thing to reduce the deficit. 
 9:52 p.m. - Three former employees of companies controlled by Bain Capital. "I like being able to fire people," continues to haunt Romney. 
 This fired guy is fired up. Says Romney "made money without a moral compass." 
 Now a middle-aged lady who worked at a Bain-owned company that fired 850 people, while Bain made $240 million on the deal. 
 Now David Foster, a steelworker for 31 years. 
 These three people are deeply emotional. No, they're pissed, even 20 years after their paths intersected with Bain. 
 His story is that Bain fired hundreds while pocketing $12 million, then the company went bankrupt. There is palpable anger in the arena at what happened to these people. 
 9:44 p.m. - Unions are an interesting question. Will we actually get to a point where wages have stagnated so much against corporate profits that they will rise again? Public service unions have advantaged themselves at taxpayer cost to the point where few non members have their backs, but what of private-sector unions? 
 I think if you see companies keep trying so hard to hold wages down, you could see a comeback someday. The companies would be better off treating their customers, stockholders and employees as equally valued constituencies. Treating employees well is a much better plan than casuing them to organize. 
 9:40 p.m. - "Let Detroit go bankrupt," Romney is accused of saying by King. I don't think that's exactly what he said, as I remember, but I could be wrong. I guess the sentiment if fairly close. 
 Obama has certain victories no one can reasonably argue with. Bin Laden and the auto industry are probably tops among them, and the Democrats are wise to punch them as much as possible. 
 9:37 p.m. - Either because of Obama or because of overcrowding, hundreds of delegates and journalists are locked out of the arena. 
 Now at the podium is Bob King, a bespectacled firebrand for organized labor. 
 King, 66, is president of the United Auto Workers union. He is a lifetime labor activist, as well as an attorney, whose work was critical to the auto industry bailout, beginning in 2008. 
 9:34 p.m. - The video is fine, and the nation is clearly better off with an auto industry than without one. I wonder just how much Obama is going to hit Romney's opposition to the bailout in the next eight weeks. 
 It's a very difficult charge for the Republican nominee to answer. 
 9:30 p.m. - Having business leaders here this week is clearly a way to combat the idea that said business leaders are terrified of Obama and won't hire because of "uncertainty." 
 Businesses aren't hiring because they don't need employees, because there is no demand for their products and services. 
 All the other reasons are just excuses, and don't really have anything to do with why there's no hiring. 
 And now, a video on the auto industry. 
 9:27 p.m. - Austin Ligon is now on the stage. 
 Austin Ligon, 61, is the co-founder and former CEO of Carmax. He now invests extensively in entrepreneurial start-ups. 
 I love Carmax and have bought and sold several cars there. It is one of the great regrets that when the company was first rolling out, I told my wife (then-girlfriend) we should invest in a few hundred shares, but didn’t. And those shares would now be worth fat cash. So I have no idea what he’s going to talk about, but I do love his work. 
 9:26 p.m. - Saralegui is one of those American anomalies, a woman who is wildly famous among Hispanics, and practically unkown to non-Hispanics. 
 She is also a great poster for the American Dream, writ large, and the story she's telling, of achieving massive success in media through nothing but hard work and guts, is inspiring. 
 Says "For the first time in her life, the American Dream is in danger." 
 Attacking Romney on health care, says he is backwards. Just hearing that Gabby Giffords will appear tomorrow night. Take that, Clint Eastwood. Saralegui is assailing Romney on his "self-deport" theory from the primaries, and well she should. It was so harsh, based on the idea you could make life so hard for 11 million people they would flee their homes and families, that it embarassed Newt Gingrich, and that's not easy. 
 She pleads with Hispanics to vote, to remember many of them come from countries where they cannot vote, and use this precious right. 
 9:18 p.m. - Veliz ends by introducing Cristina Saralegui, a Cuban-American journalist and entertainer. 
 9:17 p.m. - Benita Veliz, a DREAM Act activist, is now speaking. She is an undocumented student who has been successful in college and has been here nearly all her life. 
 The crowd is responsive to immigration talk, and they should be. The idea that there's some sort of an advantage to sending people like Veliz out of the nation is out of touch with everything this nation stands for. 
 9:14 p.m. - Harris is smooth, but she's delivering mostly platitudes. 
 When she's done she gets polite applause, and the segue is to another video. 
 9:10 p.m. - She is talking about the idea that Republicans will roll back advances that have been made. The arena has been blocked off to entrants for about 30 minutes. At first the rumor was that the place was over capacity for fire code, now people are saying Obama has arrived to hear Clinton speak, thus the hullabaloo. 
 9:07 p.m. - Kamala Harris is now at the podium. 
 Harris, 47, is the attorney general of California, and perhaps the greatest single hyphenated American in history. She is African-America, Asian-American and Indian-American. 
 She has been outspoken advocate of hate-crime legislations, where she’s wrong (the crime is the crime, the emotions are secondary, and these laws create a privileged class) and charging the parents of kids who consistently miss school with a crime. On that one, I think she’s probably right. 
 8:38 p.m. - This is not a huge military crowd, so theyre a bit lukewarm no most of what he says, except when he talks about dealing with social issues as they affect soldiers. 
 8:33 p.m. - Now retired Gen, Eric Shinseki is addressing the crowd on all things military. 
 Shinseki, 69, is the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was a four-star general who served as Chief of Staff of the Army. Part of one of his feet was blown off in combat in Vietnam. 
 He is considered to be one of the main architects of our modern armed forces, having foreseen that combat would require smaller and nimbler forces as battles became less about huge forces massed against each other and more about counterinsurgency and fighting terrorism. 
 Shinseki was, at one time, the highest-ranking Asian-American to have served in the U.S. armed forces, and his appearance is meant to bolster the defense credentials of the Democrats. 
 8:22 p.m. - And now it's Steny Hoyer, which does make you want to ask, what's a Steny Hoyer. It's a white haired guy in a suit, it turns out. 
 Hoyer, 73, has represented Maryland in the House of Representatives since 1981. He was the House Majority Leader from 2007-2011.He has traditionally been a tremendously successful fundraiser, both for himself and for other Democratic candidates, so the Democrats can use him here in Charlotte. 
 8:05 p.m. - Celia Richards is on now, talking reproductive freedom, to great effect. 
 Richards, 54, has been the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America since 2006.&nbsp; She is the daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards, and at one time worked on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s staff. 
 7:55 p.m. - Jim Hunt has taken the stage. 
 Hunt, 75, twice served two terms as governor of North Carolina. He attended North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina Law School, and now practices law in Raleigh. 
 Hunt is speaking because of his dedication to education reform, one of the key aspects of Wednesday evening’s program, having teaching standards in education and created the “Smart Start” program to get children ready for school before they arrive. He is the longest serving governor of North Carolina. 
 Hunt is a passionate advocate for education, and he has a lot of credibility. He's been fighting this fight for at least 30 years. 
 And North Carolina's education did improve massively under his tutelage. 
 After Duncan, he is far more to this crowd's liking, as he lauds teachers and says we should pay them well. 
 7:50 p.m. - Duncan exits, to a little applause, and, I think, a few boos, then it's time for a video about education. 
 7:46 p.m. - Arne Duncan is next up, and he starts off by saying he's here as a parent. It will be an education talk, to a crowd that often disagrees with Duncan. 
 He is not being particularly well recovered. The lack of attention is almost disrespectful. 
 Duncan, 47, is the U.S. Secretary of Education, and previously ran the Chicago public school system. He is an iffy figure in liberal circles, beloved by education reform advocates but not by the teachers’ unions. His support for charter schools and “Race to the Top,” the $4 billion federal competitive grant program meant to enhance competition and standards in schools and state education programs, has made him a lightning rod for controversy. Little-known fact: Duncan played basketball at Harvard, and then professionally for four years, mostly in Australia. 
 7:35 p.m. - And now Diane Feinstein, a speaker that had not been on the list. And all the Democratic women of the Senate are coming out. 
 Gillibrand gets big applause. 
 And speaking for the crowd is a woman who was scheduled, Barbara Mikulski. 
 Mikulski, 76, is a U.S. senator serving Maryland and is the longest-tenured woman in the Congress, having served in both houses since 1977. 
 Before entering politics, she was a social worker. She voted against the use of force in Iraq in both 1991 and 2002. She is the longest-serving senator to never have chaired a full committee. 
 7:33 p.m. - Pelosi is making a spirited defense of Obama's handling of the economy focusing particularly ohio's stemming job losses he inherited and moving the needle over to job creation, albeit a slight one. 
 This is straight policy, fair pay,Obamacare, the military etc. 
 Thus far the crowd is both looser and more subdued than last night. Attendees may have realized they don't want to sit here for 4 or 5 hours, and will come in later to hear the big guns. 
 Medicare now and Social Security, and the argument that only the Democrats will protect them. How will they protect them, though? Where is the plan on, for instance, Social Security, four years&nbsp; into this presidency? 
 Surprisingly loud cheers for overturning Citizens United. Kind of a wonky topic. 
 She's trying to get a call and response going with "It's just plain wrong." Kind of a flat rallying cry. 
 And with a down ticket and upticket plea for the White House and both chambers, she is off. 
 7:30 p.m. - Richard Trumbak spoke for a few moments, and his fiery pro-labor message electrified that component of the crowd that has already arrived. The arena is about half-full. But now on stage is Nancy Pelosi, the first big speaker of the night. 
 Pelosi, 72, is the minority leader of the House of Representatives, representing California. She served as Speaker of the House from 2007-2011. She is the first woman to have served as speaker. She has served in the House since 1987. Pelosi is one of the most controversial figures in politics today, despised by Republicans but revered by many Democrats. She is in nearly full lockstep with the Democratic Part’s views on social and fiscal issues, and has been a vocal advocate for women’s rights, reproductive and otherwise. Most sensationally, she was an outspoken advocate of Obamacare, which put her directly in the tea party’s sights over the past few years. 
 7:20 p.m. - Now it's Tom Vilsack. 
 Vilsack, 61, is the United States Secretary of Agriculture. He previously served as the governor of Iowa, and ran a three-month long, mostly ignored candidacy for president during the 2008 election cycle. 
 Vilsack is earnest but dull. Little energy, and he's off. 
 7:15 p.m. - There's a lot of killing about on the floor, a lot of chatter in the stands, a lot of fumbling with iPhones. Malloy is making an argument that Bush was a failure and Romney wants to return to it. 
 Tonight is all about Bill Clinton, of course, but there will be 3 1/2 hours of speakers before he hits the stage. Last night Michelle Obama did everything she needed to do and more. Tonight, we'll also see Elizabeth Warren and about 25 other luminaries, as the Democrats try to make their case for keeping the White House. 
 Now on stage, Daniel Malloy. &nbsp;

Blog: Early speakers stress growing middle class

Early DNC speakers stress growing the economy 'from the middle out'

Sandra Fluke

Alvin Bessent is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
The crowd in Charlotte for the <a href="/topics//Democratic_National_Convention">Democratic National Convention</a> is more than a little black. That's no surprise, of course. The <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democratic Party</a> is, too.
Roughly eight in 10 African- Americans have reliably cast their votes for <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> since 77 percent supported <a href="/topics//Harry_Truman">Harry Truman</a> for president in 1948. <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">Barack Obama</a> pushed that to 95 percent in 2008 and will likely do as well this year. Helping to elect, and then re-elect, the nation's first black president has a powerful appeal. But no matter what the race of candidates the party has put up, blacks have overwhelmingly supported them. 
Why are black voters such committed Democrats? It's about opportunity. The signal achievement of the civil rights movement was its success in moving the government and the law onto the side of equal opportunity, and toward providing it in public employment. So smaller government isn't the siren song for blacks that it is for some others. 
<a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> seem to miss that when they slam big government as an obstacle to individual achievement and fume about the evils of dependency they insist it encourages. <a href="/topics//Paul_Ryan">Paul Ryan</a>, the <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> vice presidential candidate, absolutely missed it when he waxed poetic last week in <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a> that "our rights come from nature and God, not government." 
They do ideally, but for blacks it just hasn't been that simple. Doing a long, hard, honest day's work was no path to freedom or success for a slave. Pulling yourself up by the bootstraps had little meaning for blacks in the not-so-distant past, when employers regularly wrote help wanted ads that said "blacks need not apply." 
Or when the dream of home ownership was thwarted by deed restrictions like those in post-<a href="/topics//World_War_II">World War II</a> <a href="/topics//Levittown,_NY">Levittown</a> that barred blacks, denying them that critical route to economic security. Or when most of the nation's colleges were strictly off-limits if you were an American with dark skin.
Until the civil rights successes of the last half century, the law allowed such vicious, overt discrimination and protected the rights of those who practiced it. It has been a long slog from being counted in the Constitution as three-fifths of a person, to the 1857 Supreme Court ruling that blacks had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect," to the 1896 legal fiction of separate but equal, to finally -- after a lengthy series of court decisions and congressional actions on public accommodations, schools and voting rights -- to equal rights under the law.
So when conservatives rail against big government and how it enslaves an otherwise free people, it doesn't ring true for blacks. Big government is the voice of the previously disenfranchised in the corridors of power. It helps ensure that, when minorities work hard and play by the rules, those rules no longer bar them from the American dream of a better life. 
Democrats get that. It's why they cheered Tuesday night when the first lady, <a href="/topics//Michelle_Obama">Michelle Obama</a>, said the president "believes that when you've worked hard and done well and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. No, you reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed."
A lot of what the federal government does has outstripped voters' willingness to pay. Programs such as Medicare and Medicaid have to be compassionately reformed to ensure their survival. And cutbacks in the military and public employment -- avenues of opportunity historically more open to blacks than the private sector -- are inevitable. But most blacks don't want government eviscerated. We understand it's a force for opportunity and achievement. So do other Democrats.

OPBES06

Bessent: For blacks, government has been part of the solution

Democratic Convention

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There's no point trying to find something wrong with <a href="/topics//Michelle_Obama">Michelle Obama</a>'s speech to the <a href="/topics//Democratic_National_Convention">Democratic National Convention</a>. It was perfection. 
 From her stage presence to her delivery -- from the punctuating smile to the strategic repetition of the words "you see" -- it was brilliant. The first lady ruled the first night of the convention, and that's saying something given the lineup of oratorical stars she followed, notably the Castro twins, Julian and Joaquin, respectively mayor of <a href="/topics//San_Antonio,_TX">San Antonio</a> and <a href="/topics//Texas">Texas</a> congressional candidate. 
 No matter what one's politics, only the mingy-minded could fail to be proud of America's first lady Tuesday night. In this spirit, I submit my favorite lines of the speech, which have received scant attention. It was perhaps the most important statement of any thus far uttered in either convention and has been sorely lacking from the American conversation. 
 Herewith: "He was so proud to be sending his kids to college, and he made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. You see, for my dad, that's what it meant to be a man. ... That was the measure of his success in life -- being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family." 
 She was talking about her father, of course, and his struggles to make sure his children got an education. One could extrapolate her meaning to include the problem of <a href="/topics//Unemployment">unemployment</a>, which, she asserted, would be solved under <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">Barack Obama</a>'s watch. But the larger message was not political. It was that being a man means taking care of your family. It means showing up and being there. 
 It means that children need a father. 
 To this point, Michelle commented during a film montage immediately preceding her speech -- that her girls would not be who and what they are without a man who loves them. Their father. The photo accompanying this statement showed <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">President Obama</a> nuzzling their youngest child. 
 This profound and simple message shouldn't need elaboration, but we seem to have forgotten it. During the past several decades, women have been encouraged by a culture dismissive of traditional family structure to feel free to go it alone and ignore the contributions that fathers make in the nurturing of children. 
 One needn't diminish the heroic efforts of single moms, many of whom are single by necessity or circumstances beyond their control, to understand that fathering is just as important as mothering. From their fathers, boys learn to be men, and girls learn how to manage them. The Obama girls are indeed blessed. They'll know how to relate to men in healthy ways and how to navigate a sexually aggressive culture in which some boys won't have had a decent man to guide them. 
 Yes, women can teach girls these things, too, but a father's love for his daughter teaches without preaching. A girl knows what a healthy man's love looks and feels like. She sees how he treats her mother. She learns by experiencing what should be. 
 The importance of fatherhood to the health of children and therefore to the nation can't be exaggerated. Studies have shown for decades that social pathologies afflicting the young tend to cluster among children without fathers. We also know from experience and the testimony of some of Tuesday night's speakers that single mothers can and do raise exceptional children. Again, see the Castro twins. 
 But these young men are exceptional, which is why we are so riveted by their biographies. More often, young males (and females) without fathers wind up in trouble. Boys join gangs in search of male fraternity missing at home. Young females seek male attention, mistaken for love, through sexual adventurism. 
 The Obamas seem to be a model family, as do, by the way, the Romneys. I also loved <a href="/topics//Ann_Romney">Ann Romney</a>'s speech in which she said she doesn't have a perfect marriage. She has a "real" one. Those who have spent time in the marital trenches understand what she meant -- that marriage is hard work and that parenting is the hardest of all. 
 That <a href="/topics//Michelle_Obama">Michelle Obama</a> chose to underscore those struggles and to set an example for women and, through her daughters, for little girls, was a gift to the nation. That she chose to highlight her father's meaning to her life -- and that of her husband to her daughters -- was a gift to the future. 
 Brava. 
 <a href="/topics//Kathleen_Parker">Kathleen Parker</a> is a columnist for The <a href="/topics//Washington_Post_Company">Washington Post</a>. Her email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.

Commentary

OPPARK05

Parker: Michelle Obama's Valentine to men

Filler: Michelle Obama carries the night

Filler: Michelle Obama carries the night, Democrats more exuberant than RNC

michelle obama dnc - crop/lt

If you enjoyed the <a href="/topics//Republican_National_Convention">Republican National Convention</a>, get ready for the <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> to do much the same thing. No weather issues anticipated for the Dems, however, whose convention kicks off Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. 
 Just as business legend and lore claim that most deals are done on the golf course, much of the business at political conventions is done not on stage but in smaller breakfast groups and business-social interaction that is supposed to pass as simply passing the time of day. Both parties do it, spending a lot of money to do so. 
 Taxpayers foot part of the bill, regardless of which party receives one's loyalty -- or even if neither party is to your liking. 
 The <a href="/topics//Federal_Election_Commission">Federal Election Commission</a> first began public funding for the conventions in 1976. That year, each party received slightly more than $2 million in taxpayer dollars. Now the base is $4 million, but adjustments for inflation bring the total far above the base. 
 For 2012, each party received $18.2 million from the FEC to put on the respective conventions, according to the FEC website. Each host city also received $50 million from <a href="/topics//U.S._Congress">Congress</a> for security. The grand total: $136 million. That's just the beginning. And for what? It's not like the presidential nominees aren't known far in advance of the great glad-handing gatherings. For the most part, today's conventions are more parties than politicking. 
 But even the government's largesse doesn't foot all the bills. The conventions cost around three times what the FEC antes up. 
 The <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> host committee, according to <a href="/topics//New_York_Times_Company">The New York Times</a>, had no limits put in place by the national party and its $55 million budget was partially corporate-sponsored by Target, <a href="/topics//Chevron_Corporation">Chevron</a> and <a href="/topics//Microsoft_Corporation">Microsoft</a>, among others. 
 According to the chief executive of the <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a> host committee, former election lawyer Ken Jones (with a Washington law firm that represents numerous lobbyists), sponsors weren't seeking access to lawmakers but only to advertise their brands. The committee was only following the law, said Jones, in accepting the use of Passats from Volkswagen and sport utility vehicles that operate on natural gas from Chesapeake Energy. Officials of the latter have in the past sought to block proposed restrictions on business. <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> raised the balance of underwriting costs for <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a> from legal donors, including individuals who can write big checks without breaking a sweat. 
 Lobbyists and representatives of trade groups are attending the Democratic convention, too. And while the <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> have banned the host committee from accepting donations from corporations, lobbyists and wealthy individual donors, the party did allow for "in-kind" donations. <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> also have not yet disclosed their donors' list. 
 No such secrecy at the <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a> gathering, where donors like Las Vegas casino owner <a href="/topics//Sheldon_Adelson">Sheldon Adelson</a> and his wife, Miriam, were photographed smiling and waving at the cameras as if on the red carpet for an awards show. A fair exchange, one assumes, for the millions <a href="/topics//Sheldon_Adelson">Adelson</a> has poured into the Romney campaign and the $100 million he has pledged. 
 Not just rewarding big donors but asking for more is a part of both parties' conventions. Fundraising is a big part of the festivities -- and not just for the candidates who are in the spotlight. Future big players in both parties are also on display, glad-handing, backslapping and laughing uproariously at donors' bad jokes. 
 The <a href="/topics//Sunlight_Foundation">Sunlight Foundation</a> is tracking events at both conventions. Its research reports hundreds of "receptions, parties, brunches, bar bashes, yacht cruises, golf outings and other events" to put attendees -- and potential donors -- in a good frame of mind and close to the Washington movers and shakers that they believe might fulfill their wishes. <a href="/topics//USA_Today">USA Today</a>'s editorial page referred to these get-togethers as "unofficial twin conventions" and it's true. 
 In <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a>, a private reception with former Florida Gov. <a href="/topics//Jeb_Bush">Jeb Bush</a> had a $15,000 price tag. In Charlotte, attendees will meet and greet with members of the House Democratic Caucus. 
 We couldn't find the cost of admittance to that event, scheduled for "an exclusive undisclosed private venue." All indications are that, like dining in a fine restaurant where the menu has no prices, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. 
 Sponsorships for events were offered in Tampa and are on the table in Charlotte. Some groups sponsor almost identical events at both conventions, not putting all the donations in one basket. The <a href="/topics//National_Rifle_Association">National Rifle Association</a> is one in that category. 
 Influence-peddling is a nasty phrase, so no one really calls it that. But it's done. That's the way the political game is played and everyone who has a game piece on the board knows the drill. 
 Game on. 
 Bonnie Calhoun Williams writes for the Anderson Independent-Mail in South Carolina. Her email address is williamsbc@IndependentMail.com.

OPWILL06

Williams: National conventions and taxpayer costs

opobamadolls cropped

A standard line of political attack in economically troubled times has been this question, first sprung by <a href="/topics//Ronald_Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a> in his successful 1980 campaign against President Jimmy Carter: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" 
 It is hardly a secret <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> weapon. The <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> invoked it repeatedly at the party's convention last week in <a href="/topics//Tampa">Tampa</a> -- and just so the point wouldn't be lost, <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> vice presidential candidate <a href="/topics//Paul_Ryan">Paul Ryan</a> showed up Monday in <a href="/topics//North_Carolina">North Carolina</a>, the state now hosting the <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a>, to charge: "The president can say a lot of things, and he will, but he can't tell you you're better off." 
 "The Jimmy Carter years look like the good old days compared to where we are right now," Ryan said. He must have been an especially attentive lad back in Janesville, Wis., because he turned 11 only a few days after Carter left office. 
 Still, the tightly organized and disciplined Team <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">Obama</a>, which had to know the question was coming, was curiously unprepared with an answer. 
 On Sunday, <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">Obama</a>'s backers fumbled the question. On "Face the Nation," <a href="/topics//Maryland">Maryland</a> Gov. Martin <a href="/topics//Martin_O'Malley">O'Malley</a> said, "No, but that's not the question of this election." It may not be THE question, but it's certainly one of them. 
 On Fox, top Obama strategist <a href="/topics//David_Axelrod">David Axelrod</a> offered this less-than-ringing defense: "We're in a better position than we were four years ago in our economy." But by the beginning of the week, the Obama campaign seemed to have regained its footing. O'Malley had rethought his position, concluding, "We are clearly better off as a country because we're now creating jobs rather than losing them." The responses to "are you better off?" are getting ever sharper. 
 "Absolutely!" said Obama deputy campaign manager <a href="/topics//Stephanie_Cutter">Stephanie Cutter</a>. "Does anyone want to go back to 2008? I don't think so." It's a safe bet that a lot more people remember 2008, and remember it more vividly, than the Carter years. 
 Vice President <a href="/topics//Joe_Biden">Joe Biden</a>, a stranger to understatement, boomed at a union rally: "You want to know whether we're better off? I've got a little bumper sticker for you: <a href="/topics//Osama_bin_Laden">Osama bin Laden</a> is dead and <a href="/topics//General_Motors">General Motors</a> is alive." 
 All of this is a little in the nature of preseason exhibition politics. Americans like their presidential candidates to be optimistic and forward looking. On Thursday night, as he accepts his renomination, <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">President Barack Obama</a> must answer a different and more important variation of that question: Can he convincingly promise us that we'll be better off four years from now than we are today? 
 Dale McFeatters is a senior writer for the Scripps Howard News Service.

OPMCFE05

McFeatters: Will we be better off in 2016?

513515569

"A rendezvous with destiny" is a useful reference in discussing the 2012 <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democratic Party</a> Convention in Charlotte, N.C. <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">President Barack Obama</a> faces no challenge to renomination for a second term, but the fall election provides a decisive test following his remarkably swift rise to the <a href="/topics//White_House">White House</a>. 
 President <a href="/topics//Franklin_D._Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a> made the dramatic destiny declaration at the 1936 Democratic convention in Philadelphia. Convention speeches generally are much noted at the time, but not long remembered. 
 FDR provides an exception in this regard and others. In seeking a second term, he faced an economy still immersed in <a href="/topics//The_Great_Depression">the Great Depression</a>. <a href="/topics//Adolf_Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>'s Germany was rapidly remilitarizing while implementing ruthless totalitarian dictatorship, Japan's invasion of <a href="/topics//China">China</a> had been under way for five years and Italy had invaded and occupied <a href="/topics//Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>. 
 Today, international relations are far safer and more stable but remain challenging, especially for <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a>. Over many years, opinion polls have shown that Americans generally think <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> leadership is more effective at protecting national security, supporting our military forces and combating terrorism. 
 This reflects in part the terrible trauma of the <a href="/topics//Vietnam_War">Vietnam War</a> and the general turbulence of the 1960s. That war was vastly escalated by the Democratic Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention divided over the war into turbulence and some violence, while a full-fledged riot broke out between demonstrators and police outside the hall. 
 In succeeding years, the Democratic and <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> parties became respectively much more liberal and conservative. Polls show current all-volunteer military personnel are overwhelmingly <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> in political sentiment, in marked contrast to more balanced party preferences during the years of the military draft. 
 Obama at the convention can be expected to argue a strong, well-prepared case for national security effectiveness. Evidence includes his retaining Defense Secretary <a href="/topics//Robert_Gates">Robert Gates</a> from the Bush administration, reflecting political calculation as well as respect for this particular public servant. 
 The Obama administration has been extremely aggressive in targeting and killing individual terrorists. Simultaneously, the administration has returned to traditional Washington emphasis on working whenever possible in partnership with allies and established international organizations, in particular <a href="/topics//NATO">NATO</a> and the <a href="/topics//United_Nations">United Nations</a>. 
 The <a href="/topics//Iraq_War">Iraq war</a> was not as divisive in U.S. domestic politics as the <a href="/topics//Vietnam_War">Vietnam War</a>, or even the Korean War, but also was never strongly supported by the public at large. Obama has fulfilled a campaign pledge in withdrawing U.S. military forces from direct ground engagement in that country. He has also been consistent with 2008 campaign statements in making Afghanistan a higher strategic priority. 
 Opinion polls show strong, long-term public support for arms control. In December 2010, the Obama administration scored a victory when the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a> overwhelmingly confirmed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia. In a rare example of <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a> bipartisanship, 13 <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> joined the two independents and all the <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> in supporting the treaty, which passed 71-26. 
 Above all, Obama must energize his election base and attract additional public support. FDR could cite exceptional success in passing comprehensive New Deal economic reform legislation, while alluding to gathering clouds of war. 
 Obama likewise must provide a persuasive argument for re-election, and foreign policy should be included. Unlike 2008, he cannot rely solely on acknowledged brilliance as a campaign orator. 
 Writer Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College. E-mail him at acyr@carthage.edu

OPCYR01

Cyr: What Barack Obama needs to do at Democratic convention

Charlotte, N.C. — One of the great joys of covering big news events is the “swag bag” — the collection of free stuff organizers hand out to attendees. Planned events, anyway. You rarely get good swag covering a 27-car collision or a three-alarm fire. 
 Since the Democratic National Convention is the second one we’re covering in a short span, and Walt Handelsman and I have been sharing a room for 164 consecutive days now (OK, 10) I had hoped the goodies would include fresh undergarments and industrial strength air fresheners, but no such luck. Instead, we got a mixed collection of mundane items and oddities that the New York Democratic delegation apparently feels are must-haves for the Charlotte celebration. 
 There’s the standard water bottle, sponsored by Pitta Bishop Del Giorno &amp; Giblin LLC, a consulting and government relations firm, and its corporate cousin, Pitta and Giblin LLP, Attorneys at Law. The message, I think, is “It’s important to stay hydrated, but it’s really important to know who to call when you get in trouble.” 
 There are the two notepads, sponsored by former Republican Sen. Alfonse D’Amato’s mega-powerful consulting and public relations firm Park Strategies LLC. Since there are two, delegates can use one for the list “1,000 reasons I love President Barack Obama” and the other for the list “1,000 Reasons I’m Terrified to Cross Alfonse D’Amato.” 
 There’s antibacterial spray from Yahoo! (so, so much handshaking), a poncho (in case God is cheeky enough to let it rain on this parade) and a squeezy yellow ball from the good folks at Sprint — good for Democrats who need to relieve tension while watching new reports on jobs and spending. 
 Seemingly included just to induce columnist-penned jokes about the “liberal East Coast elites” are the Kenneth Cole clutch for carrying everything and the two sweet-and-salty almond-flavored “Odwalla Chewy Nut Bars,” which contain no high fructose corn syrup but are instead sweetened with brown rice syrup, organic dried date syrup and evaporated cane juice syrup. 
 You don’t really appreciate high fructose corn syrup until it’s gone. These things taste like Styrofoam packing peanuts, but without all that rich Styrofoam goodness. 
 Then there are the two pedometers. Are they a warning about how far we’re going to have to hoof it to the convention once we clear the security perimeter? A plea to embrace the active lifestyle, to turn off our favorite reality show (“American Sloth” for me) and go for a brisk walk? Is there any way I can get one of mine to Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, along with a working stopwatch? 
 Then there are the really odd gifts, the puzzlers. 
 The tire pressure gauge, sponsored by the Rubber Manufacturer’s Association, seems a cryptic messaging device at best. What jingoistic slogan should pop to mind as we hold this instrument? Are we “Floating On Air With Obama?” Seeking “Four More Years of a Smooth Ride With Barack?” Or is it a dire warning? “Mitt Romney Will Put this Nation in a Ditch Faster Than a High-Speed Blowout?” “The Republicans Will Take the Air Out of This Great Nation’s Tires?” 
 But by far the wackiest bits of swag in the bags are the brand new copies of the DVD “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II.” Everybody got one. 
 It’s the story of how a wondrous boy wizard perseveres, overcoming great evil, to set things right in the world, and I suppose it’s possible that we are supposed to see President Obama as being a hero to rival the bespectacled teen all the world loves. 
 If so, I think it’s an unfortunate comparison. If Obama asked me how he measured up, I’d have no choice but to tell him the truth. “To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen in a long-ago campaign: I’ve read the Harry Potter books. I’ve seen the Harry Potter movies. And you, sir, are no Harry Potter.” &nbsp;

Filler: What's in the DNC swag bag?

Filler: What's in the swag bag? The perks of being a delegate to the Democratic National Convention

DNC Swag Bag

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) has served as the ceremonial head of the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State delegation at every <a href="/topics//Democratic_National_Convention">Democratic National Convention</a> since 1996, and he's scheduled to act in this capacity once again in this week in Charlotte, N.C. Given his admitted role in payouts regarding the sexual harassment allegations against Assemb. <a href="/topics//Vito_Lopez">Vito Lopez</a> (D-Brooklyn), however, Silver should not be given this honor.
He should spare the state and his party embarrassment by stepping aside and giving this role to someone else -- ideally one of New York's many prominent female politicians.
Unfortunately, he's unlikely to step aside voluntarily.
If he doesn't, Democrats from across the state, especially our most prominent female politicos, should insist on it. This includes Sen. <a href="/topics//Kirsten_Gillibrand">Kirsten Gillibrand</a>, <a href="/topics//New_York_City_Council">New York City Council</a> Speaker Christine Quinn, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), <a href="/topics//Nita_M_Lowey">Rep. Nita Lowey</a> (D-Westchester-Rockland) and, most important, Caroline <a href="/topics//Caroline_Kennedy">Kennedy</a> -- who not only serves as co-chairwoman of <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">President Barack Obama</a>'s re-election campaign, but is scheduled to speak at the convention.
Democrats have spent most of this presidential election year accusing <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> of being anti-women. They shouldn't be allowed to engage in what appears to be a double standard. If <a href="/topics//Vito_Lopez">Lopez</a> and Silver were Republicans, they would have been called to the carpet by the Dems for their alleged misbehavior: Lopez for what many of his colleagues agree are serious charges of sexual harassment against employees, including inappropriate comments and unwanted advances; Silver for authorizing a secret state payment to alleged victims. 
The fact that both remain in office should be addressed in the long term. But for right now, Silver shouldn't represent the great state of New York in Charlotte. 
And Democrats shouldn't just quietly ask him to consider stepping down, in hushed tones driven by fear of political reprisal if he actually survives this firestorm. Instead, they should join together and demand it.
Kennedy is well-positioned to lead this charge, not only because she is a well-known New Yorker, but because as co-chairwoman of the president's re-election campaign, she is playing a lead role in the party gathering. Her speaking slot at the convention is part of the Obama campaign's attempt to solidify its support with female voters.
Kennedy has a history with Lopez. In late 2008, when she was trying to gain support to be appointed to the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">U.S. Senate</a> from New York, Kennedy had lunch with Lopez, and shortly after their meeting, he endorsed her appointment.
That appointment never materialized for a variety of reasons, but Kennedy shouldn't be faulted for seeking Lopez's support -- he has been a kingmaker in Democratic state politics for decades. But given what we now know about the allegations against him, and Silver's role in handling the claims by former female staff members, Kennedy should stand up and demand Silver hand over his role at the convention.
This is the kind of gutsy act Kennedy has so often spoken about when honoring politicians from across the country with a "Profile in Courage" award, and it's one she should lead on behalf of New Yorkers and women nationwide.
Jeanne Zaino is interim dean of the School of Arts &amp; Science and a professor of political science at Iona College.

OPZAINO

Zaino: If Sheldon Silver doesn't step aside at convention, Democrats should insist

vpsilver - crop

Democrats, the nation’s pre-eminent guardians of the nanny state, began arriving in Charlotte for their national convention Saturday, just as North Carolina restaurants regained the right to serve the delicious medium-rare and rare burgers that can, on occasion, sicken or kill. 
 They can even serve them with 128-ounce Mountain Dew Mega Monster Gulps. 
 Burgercide is rarer than a pound of freshly ground chuck. According to the Centers For Disease Control, there were an average of about 100 fatalities per year from E.coli in the United States between 1981 and 2010, not all of them food-borne. There are about 54 deaths from lightning strikes in this nation annually, and a lot more people (all, in fact) eat food than frolic outdoors during thunderstorms. 
 Regardless, North Carolina outlawed burgers served in restaurants at an internal temperature of lower than 155 degrees in hysterical response to the 1993 outbreak of E.coli caused by food served at Jack in the Box, which killed four children. 
 Many other states did the same. I was in South Carolina in 1993 when that state passed its rare-burger ban, and I was struck by the irony of it. 
 In South Carolina you can drive a motorcycle down the street, helmetless, while sucking raw, potentially disease-infused oysters from the shell, but from 1993 until a couple of years ago, you couldn’t get a little red in your Double Deluxe. You still can’t if you are under 18. There’s a lot of legal ways to risk life in limb there, and everywhere, but when people die and television news anchors can intone, “Are your children safe?” silly laws sometimes get passed. 
 In North Carolina, retail establishments can sell you cigarettes — a fact I whole-heartedly (and heart-diseasedly) approve of — alcohol, guns, ammunition, deep-fried sticks of butter, but, until Saturday, not a properly juicy patty. 
 The re-legalization of the yummyburger was hailed by foodies, and a restaurant called The Liberty celebrated by offering theirs at half-price all weekend to customers who ordered true rare. Your intrepid reporter headed to The Liberty Monday. I didn’t get the half-price deal (I tried, boss, I swear) because Labor Day is apparently not part of the “weekend,” but I did get a bumping burger. It was the “Southern Crunch,” a massive patty-and-bun adventure loaded with pimento cheese, jalapenos, bacon and potato chips, recently voted “Best Burger in Charlotte.” And it was a five-napkin bun-and-patty marriage of the best sort. By the time I finished (every bit of 90 seconds after I started) I was covered in more blood than a vampire on date night. 
 Andrea, our server, said the burger trade has been brisk since Saturday. She also admitted, via eye gestures and what might have been a wink, that customers had always been able to get theirs cooked to less than 155 degrees if they knew how to ask. 
 Perhaps something like, “If you turn my burger into a charred hockey puck, I’m going to weep, wail, gnash my teeth and tear out my hair on your bar,” did the trick. 
 In the scheme of things, rare burgers aren’t a big deal. But the hysterical and arbitrary nature of nanny state laws is. In New York City right now, a ban on the sale of sugary soft drinks over 16 ounces at certain retail establishments is being debated, and the biggest supporters are the same knee-jerk liberals who, in my experience, think marijuana should be decriminalized. 
 Hmm. 
 Everything we can do that doesn’t directly hurt another person should be legal. Drugs, liquor, prostitution, gambling, steak tartare, wearing plaid with stripes. Life is less complicated if you’re consistent -- and more fun if you favor sin. 
 Believing that, I particularly enjoyed eating my juicy delight as Charlotte filled with Democrats, at least some of whom believe trans fats, fatty meat, potato chips, tanning, baby formula, cigarettes and anything that endangers anything, with the exception of pot, abortions and subtly naughty chardonnays with oaky finishes, must be banned. 
 Now I’m off to the convenience store, where I’m hoping there’s a 128-ounce Mountain Dew Mega Monster Gulp with my name on it. &nbsp;

Filler: Nanny staters invade N.C. and let loose

Filler: Nanny staters invade N.C., and get to order the rare, rare burger

VPBURGER

Democrats in Charlotte are all about labor. &nbsp;Republicans in Tampa were all about business ownership. That difference in perspective has always been a political fault line, but now it has become a gaping, Grand Canyon of a divide. 
 It is Labor Day, and at breakfast for the New York delegates to the Democratic National Convention more than than a little union tub-thumping was de rigueur. But it wasn't perfunctory. 
 Stoked by labor leaders such as Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers; Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; and a line of New York City and upstate elected officials, it was unselfconscious and enthusiastic -- even though attention to the podium waxed and waned as the speeches went on and on. 
 Apparently no one in this crowd got the message from Tampa that entrepreneurs are the be-all-and-end-all of the U.S. economy. But the nation's politics has to be more than a union-management stand-off. Bridging the gap is crucial. Each side has to recognize the indispensable value of the other. 
 For the nation's economy to work the way it should, there has to be something in it for everybody.

Democrats kick off convention with nod to union base

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