In the four years since Barack Obama became president, Bill Clinton has suddenly become Republicans favorite Democrat, frequently invoked by such former rivals as Newt Gingrich and even Rush Limbaugh as sensible and practical, compared to that European style Socialist currently in the White House.
But Clinton's"full-throated" endorsement of Obama last night (we put that term in quotes since its the go-to line in various print reports today) didn't do too much for conservative thinkers, not if you go by what's in National Review or the Weekly Standard this morning.
But the 51-minute address was a big hit inside the Time Warner Cable Arena, though it went well past the one-hour prime time slot on CBS & ABC. The Democrats insertion of "God" and the wish for Jerusalem to be the capitol of Israel threw the timing off earlier in the evening, putting Sandra Fluke on prime time, preceding Elizabeth Warren.
Now it's all on the president tonight. Because of his fluency in giving speeches during the 2008 campaign, Obama has relied on them often during his presidency, without the success he enjoyed while campaigning. Analysts contend that tonight's address must be about the future, and why he wants to be the country's leader for the next four years. Coming off the intensity of Clinton and the First Lady's speeches the past two nights, the stakes couldn't be higher.
Meanwhile there has been activism in Charlotte, but still nothing crazy. CL's Michael Newberger spoke yesterday with Code Pink's Medea Benjamin about why that activist group - so omnipresent a week ago in Tampa - is protesting against the Democrats this week.
Throughout the months leading up to the RNC, one City Council member - Mary Mulhern - was critical of the excessive security build-up. A week after the convention, she says her views have been validated, though she also has much praise for the Tampa Police Department.
And supporters of Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson were scheduled to protest last night in front of the studios of Bay News 9 - using that local news channel as the site to express their dissatisfaction with the mainstream media's blackout of their candidate.
