US: Hillary's revenge
The national party convention season beginning next week -- which the Democrats will kick off on Monday with their three-day jamboree in Denver, Colorado -- may depart from recent precedent in two key respects. First, there could actually be some politically momentous moments, beyond the presidential nominees’ acceptance speeches. And secondly, they could have an unusually large impact on the election outcome.
The party nominees’ acceptance speeches, as always, will attract the most attention, but Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will face different yardsticks of success. McCain has a well-deserved reputation for performing poorly in front of a Teleprompter, and will need to undergo significant coaching before his moment in the spotlight on September 4. In contrast, media expectations surrounding Obama’s address could not be higher, but he is also being pushed by the party bosses to add more policy substance to his rhetoric. This may put him in a difficult bind.
The Democrats have also marketed their convention as an exercise in party unity, after a bruising primary campaign. Obama’s defeated rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, has seized the second most prominent speaking slot, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will also be a primetime television player. Modern conventions are primarily designed to showcase the party nominees, but the Clintons may hijack Obama’s spotlight. Senator Clinton has also succeeded in getting her name placed in nomination, alongside Obama’s. While there is no chance that Democratic ‘superdelegates’, or party bigwigs, will switch their allegiance to her, the opportunity exists for embarrassing defections. There will also be plenty of competing cheering, and perhaps a reprise of latent ill-feeling.
Thus, the Democratic convention will be fraught will hazards for both the party and its nominee, Obama. His imperative to hit a grand slam with his acceptance speech on August 28, before a capacity stadium crowd at Invesco Field (the Denver Broncos’ football stadium), appears more compelling than ever.
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