Democratic Convention: a failure

Given the rolling success of the Republican National Convention, it’s now become conventional wisdom that the Democrats squandered an opportunity at their convention a month ago:

Boston Globe – “Republicans on a Roll”:

Kerry also surrounded himself with Vietnam veterans and military men, hoping to transmit an image of strength. But the first test of strength is backbone. Kerry showed little, even before the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth muddied his campaign waters. There must be polling data to support his decision to avoid making a clear statement on issues from war to abortion. But what reason could there be to let the ever-bitter emotions of a war 30 years ago poison his presidential campaign? In New York, Republicans salute the troops serving in Iraq. In Boston, Kerry saluted his own service in Vietnam, giving opponents a rationale for attack.

Mort Kondracke:

At the Democratic convention in Boston, the Kerry campaign brimmed with confidence that the referendum basically had been held, that voters had decided against Bush and that all that Kerry had to do was make himself seem an acceptable alternative.

But either they didn't deliver the goods in Boston - that's the Bush view - or Kerry had a bad August, or both. Either way, it looks as though the race is what the Bush campaign planned: a choice in which voters are going to heed what they dislike about each candidate as much as what they like.

Senator Splunge got (maybe) a two-percent dead-cat bounce from his convention. We’ll see how much of a bump President Bush receives from the RNC but I’m betting it will at least triple Kerry’s bounce. We’ll know soon enough.