August 30, 2008
It’s Your Turn, John McCain
By Mark J. Penn
In the end, the 2008 Democratic National Convention was about as flawless as Democratic conventions get and avoided the most common pitfalls of the past.
Michele Obama and Hillary Clinton delivered a one-two punch that was followed by Bill Clinton and Joseph Biden. The four of them delivered the core message that Barack Obama detailed on the final night: we need a change.
Even the on again, off again roll call vote did not in any way divide the convention and ended in a vote by acclamation.
In contrast, the 2004 convention dwelled too much on John Kerry’s war record and avoided substance. Once the Republicans put that military record in the cross hairs, it cost Mr. Kerry the election. And in 2000, Al Gore relied on “people vs. the powerful” as his core message, which allowed him to be painted as a big government liberal, costing him his lead in the election. The Democratic Party has come a long way from when former Vice President Walter Mondale declared in 1984 that he had the courage to tell voters he was going to raise their taxes, putting him on the defensive for the rest of the campaign. This time, as in 1992, the headlines show that Democrats will cut taxes for hard-working Americans.
It was in 1996 that Democrats had a similarly unifying and optimistic message of “building a bridge to the 21st Century.” And Obamaism and Clintonism came together Thursday night in Mr. Obama’s speech as a single idea for governing: a return to an activist president who will cut taxes for the middle class while cutting government waste, an optimistic president who can guide us in overcoming our dependence on foreign oil in 10 years and who will exhaust aggressive diplomacy before resorting to the use of force. The theme of renewing the promise of America was actually the theme that Hillary used in her first speeches in Iowa, and that both she and Mr. Obama wound up sharing during the primary campaign. And just like Bill Clinton who talked incessantly about opportunity, community and responsibility, Mr. Obama also put personal responsibility at the core of renewing the promise of the country.
Barack Obama left few bases uncovered, but was careful to play down divisive messages. Immigration was mentioned, but not immigration reform. Abortion was cited as an issue where we can disagree, but Supreme Court nominees and a litmus test for them was not. While tax cuts would cover 95 percent of the voters, the tax increases and budget cuts to pay for them are mentioned but not specified. He made a promise of “affordable, accessible” health care for all, but no commitment to universal coverage. Terrorism would be defeated through “new partnerships.” The war would be brought to an end “responsibly,” not with a time line or a deadline. In issue after issue he sought to find the middle ground and bring people together around solving them rather than dividing them.
His latest ads end with the slogan: put the “middle class first.”
And so the buses have left Denver with Mr. Obama and the Clintons on the same page, with the party enthusiastically supporting its nominees, and all united behind a largely centrist agenda that goes to the everyday concerns of most Americans angry with the Bush administration. For McCain, this was one tough convention to follow.
