Before beginning the live blog, thought I’d mention for those of you who haven’t been around the tube or innertubes that Democrats have not been shy about laying the wood to Romney on the first afternoon. I only caught part of it, but even the Ted Kennedy Tribute film had a rich sampling of Teddy mocking Mitt (his 1994 Senate opponent). Despite all the stories about the glum atmosphere in Charlotte as contrasted with the euphoria of Denver four years ago, it’s certainly a noisier assemblage during the afternoon sessions than you saw in Tampa.
Ted Strickland’s at the podium now doing his version of the “stand up” routine, and he’s lucky enough to be able to talk about one administration accomplishment nobody in ObamaLand has been ambivalent about: the auto industry “bailout.” Here’s the latest line: “If Mitt was Santa Claus, he’d fire the reindeer and outsource the elves!” It also helps that Strickland is an ordained minister, and he nicely deployed the old “where you treasure is, so there is your heart” line from scripture to call Mitt unpatriotic. Democrats do love economic nationalism, and Strickland elicited a “USA!” chant as robust as anything we heard from the Republicans.
It was a nice touch to have Sebelius–whose father Jack Gilligan was Governor of Ohio many years ago–follow Strickland. She’s loudly and proudly defending ObamaCare (another decisive theme so far that has surprised some pundits), calling it “a badge of honor” and detailing the provisions that have already taken effect (plus the 80/20 rebates currently being mailed out). “Being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition” is a good line.
Do wish she had mentioned Medicaid, though….
Rahm’s up now, but I’ll let you watch.
