Reflecting back on last weeks presentation by the Democratic Party, let’s take a look how they handled the issues I listed.

Hillary Clinton – What was probably the best political speech of her career, she highlighted the race between her and Obama during the primaries, and how she placed 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling for women. What was missing from her speech was much about Obama himself or how he would be best qualified for the Presidency. It might have been a means to establish herself for 2012 in the off chance that Obama loses, or maybe it was a way to retain the confidence in some of her supporters that are weary of endorsing Obama. However, the speech itself did no harm, and it rallied the base, so on this point, the DNC survived a potential catastrophe.

Hillary’s delegates – A lot of jockeying was done before the roll call vote was done to ensure that the delegates were declared and that at no time did Hillary have the lead. Some states were required to cast their delegates as the people voted, while other states allowed the delegates to cast all their votes for the primary winner. Doing the roll call alphabetically, the initial states pledged delegates for both candidates, but keeping Obama ahead at all times. When it came to states like California, where Clinton carried the state by 52%, the state would yield to the next state to cast their delegates at a later point. After Illinois put the delegate totals for Obama over the half-way point, Nancy Pelosi asked if anyone disapproved of ending the roll call and quickly gaveled the roll call over before anyone had a chance to object. This was the best way they could avoid any contention on the floor by rouge Hillary supporters.

Bill Clinton – In my view, this was the best speech of the convention. Leading up to his speech, there were concerns that Clinton would stray from the provided topic and may not even give a ringing endorsement of Obama. Yes, Clinton did stray, but did so to highlight the importance of the party and as a segway into why Obama should champion the successes of the past into the next four years. If there truly was a concern about party unity, Clinton healed the rift.

John Edwards – This comment here represents more than what was mentioned by the media outlets and at the convention itself. The story line of his infidelity was kept out of the headlines and primetime during the convention as a way to avoid distractions to the message.

Joe Biden – Not that I expected there to be any coverage on this at the convention itself, the media outlets really didn’t highlight how Biden is in a position to endorse the views that Obama had on the war and management of Iraq. Other than Biden stating how it is time to bring the troops home, not much was stated on this topic, limiting the potential media news on what Biden stated just months earlier.

Michelle Obama – Her speech on the opening night did a good job in reintroducing herself and the family to America. It wasn’t a grand speech, nor did it really carry anything of major substance, but it solidified Obama as a family man. It was capped off when his two young daughters came on to the stage to have a teleconference with their father who was in Kansas at the time.

Time – The enemy of time isn’t something that could be beaten by a convention, but the imagery of his prime time speech at the colossal outdoor venue did a lot to help pull back some wayward supporters. As of today, he is finally seeing his post convention ‘bounce,’ putting him up anywhere from 5 to 8 percentage votes.

Overall, the convention was a success. No major gaffes occurred, and strong presentations by the Clintons helped to ensure there wasn’t a major divide within the party just months before the election. The question will be if his convention and ‘bounce’ will be enough to quell any successes from the Republican convention. “Time” can only tell.

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