I’m still somewhat in shock at the first night of the Democratic Convention. I kept thinking I was at a Republican convention. Tightly scripted, elegantly choreographed, seamlessly on the centrist message of war, unity, maturity and judgment. Foreign policy was front and center; faith was showcased; military service was held up as the ideal; prudent leadership was touted in a time of “peril,” in Hillary’s word. I wonder if they can keep this up. But I’m amazed they’ve tried. I’ve been writing for months now that Kerry’s most effective message would be that he’d conduct the war on terror with more allies and more wisdom than Bush. But I never actually believed he’d be canny enough to do exactly that. But he has! If the first night is any indicator, the Democrats have played the smartest, strongest card of the campaign so far. First off, they put 9/11 front and foremost, insisting that this is their catastrophe too, and the center of their concerns as well. A vital move. And it was done movingly and well. I had a catch in my throat as “Amazing Grace” struck up, and another as I absorbed the fact that a Muslim-American and a Jewish-American had just joined in tribute to the murdered. Ironic, isn’t it, that the Republican convention was placed in New York in early September precisely to evoke memories of 9/11, and yet, by coming first, the Democrats may have dented that advantage with their innovative commemmoration. And the 9/11 set-piece dealt with a deeper problem as well. It is a feature of incumbency during moments and periods of trauma that the president inevitably becomes associated with the national expressions of grief, determination, unity. By the same token, the opposition, especially one that comes to question the conduct of the war, may come to find itself disassociated. Last night, the Democrats did all they could to erase and undo that impression. Rhetorically, at least, they were saying: this is our war too. But we can pursue it more wisely and effectively than the well-meaning hothead now in office. And there was a subtler message as well. Remember when we were one as a nation? Do you really think that president Bush is capable of bringing any of us together again? Of course, some Democrats are responsible for exactly that polarization. But it’s nevertheless a smart move to portray themselves as a unifying future compared to the divisive past.
The Dish 