In this highly partisan, fiercely contested election, it is a rare occurrence when everyone agrees something. But everyone is in agreement on President Obama convention speech last night: it was a total dud. Here are just some of the reactions:
CBS’ Bob Schieffer: “It just didn’t have that spark.”
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “A lot of stuff we’ve heard before.”
NBC’s Savannah Guthrie: “An excitement gap between the president’s speech and Bill Clinton’s last night.”
The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza: “Certainly not among the best he has ever delivered”
National Journal‘s Ron Fournier: “Why Obama’s Speech Fell Short”
Tampa Bay Times editorial: Obama’s wish list lacks action plan.
BuzzFeed‘s Ben Smith: “Oba-meh”
Democratic National Convention
Michael Barone: Thoughts on night three of the Democratic convention
Byron York: Defining hope down
Tim Carney: A pedestrian speech greeted as a barn-burning sermon
Phil Klein: Will Americans buy Obama’s ‘harder’ path?
Campaign 2012
Polls: After one full day of results, the Reuters/Ipsos poll shows no convention bounce for Obama. The poll of 1,623 registered voters had Romney up 45 to 44 percent.
Obama: The supposed steel worker that spoke Wednesday about Bain Capital’s management of GST steel, never worked for GST steel. He was employed by the United Steelworkers of America to organize unions.
Romney: The Romney campaign is planning to “carpet bomb” swing states with tens of millions in television ads after the Democratic National Convention. More than a dozen new ads, each tailored to different regions and segments of the electorate, will begin airing today.
In Other News
The Washington Post, Worries intensify over Syrian chemical weapons: Western spy agencies suspect Syria’s government has several hundred tons of chemical weapons and precursor components scattered among as many as 20 sites throughout the country, heightening anxieties about the ability to secure the arsenals in the event of a complete breakdown of authority in the war-torn nation, U.S. and Middle Eastern officials say.
The New York Times, With Medicaid, Long-Term Care of Elderly Looms as a Rising Cost: With baby boomers and their parents living longer than ever, the only safety net for millions of middle-class people whose needs for long-term care, at home or in a nursing home, outlast their resources.
Righty Playbook
National Review‘s Rich Lowry on “Obama’s fizzle.”
Hunter Walker reports that members of the media have been using “fake” names to buy official Obama gear and contribute to the Obama campaign inside the Time Warner Cable Arena.
RedState‘s Erick Erickson on Obama’s “Recycled Speech of Failed Ideas and Many Straw Men.”
Lefty Playbook
Mother Jones‘ Adam Sewer says Obama phoned it in.
Talking Points Memo identifies the three themes Obama wanted to drive home with his convention: 1) Obama Cares About You, Romney Cares About Balance Sheets; 2) Economic Patriotism; and 3) Romney’s Untested Foreign Policy.
The Washington Monthly‘s Ed Kilgore reminds us why Obama rejected Simpson-Bowles: liberals believe it would turn them into “tax collectors for the austerity state.”
