A Humbled Obama Asks For Your Vote.

A reflective and humbled Barak Obama accepted his party’s nomination for a second term and brought to a close a very successful Democratic National Convention. As we watched his speech we were looking for two things that we felt were missing in Mitt Romney’s remarks:  1.) Specifics as to where he wants to take the country and how he intends to get there and 2.) An affirmation that he truly understands the plight of average Americans.

The president’s speech was short on specifics and lacked the soaring oratory that we have come to expect.  He said that in the next four years he would recruit a 100,000 math and science teachers, create a million new manufacturing jobs and reduce the deficit by 4 trillion dollars.  He said that he would double net exports, cut oil exports and help train two million people at community colleges to fill existing job openings.  These are certainly loft and worthy goals.  But we remain uncertain of how he intends to achieve them.

While the presidents’ remarks were short on policy specifics they were long on reflection.  “I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention.  Times have changed…and so have I.”  “While I am proud of what we have achieved together, I am far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.” 

This is a president who came into office perhaps a bit naïve as to the enormity of the country’s problems and the real consequences that result from every single decision a president makes.  Now, four years wiser he understands the power and the limitations of the office; and he grasps the enormous responsibility that he holds in his hands.  “I am no longer a candidate. I am the president.”  It is clear to us that he “gets it.”

In the end, this was a huge week for the Democrats.  If you are scoring these two pep rallies…the Democrats won in a blow out.  From the speeches to the optics to the overall orchestration the Democrats far outshined their Republican counterparts.  We expect the president and the party will get a good size bump in the polls from these proceedings.

Immediately after Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate we said that this was a clear choice election between two very different paths for the country.  And that over the next three months there would be four opportunities for each side to make its case to the American people:  the conventions and the three debates.  The Democrats were the clear victors in round one.  Some have opined that the president’s acceptance speech was short on specifics and reserved in tone because victory is in hand and caution is the winning strategy. But Democrats should be wary of misinterpreting the euphoria from last night’s proceedings. A successful convention does not an election make. 

The Democrats are the clear victors in the convention wars.  But today reality returns as we get the latest job numbers.  And three crucial debates loom on the horizon.  There is still a very long way to go.