"...The Democrats’ tight, high-energy production in Charlotte last week clearly bested the Republicans’ undisciplined, tepid affair in Tampa the week before." ...Steve Coll, New Yorker
There seems to be general agreement about that. It always works that way. Twelve years ago, people were saying the same thing but in reverse. Coll, who is a moderate kind of political analyst doesn't think Romney or the Republicans are doing the job.
... After two decades of talking about the construction of a Republican “big tent” that could attract a permanent voting majority, including more women and large numbers of Latinos, the Party has instead folded in on itself, inviting anti-immigrant activists and small-government ideologues to define a brittle agenda. In Tampa, Romney had nothing inspirational to say to voters of color.
Romney may yet win—the polls show a dead heat. The economy is still sluggish, and the number of jobs added in August was below expectations. ...Steve Coll, New Yorker
Coll goes on to be quite critical of Obama in ways most of us kind of agree but don't yell out in campaign season! Then Coll gets down to what this election is all about.
... The President did offer a powerful response to the dystopian individualism of the Ayn Rand-influenced Republicans and their leader, Paul Ryan, the Vice-Presidential nominee, by invoking “citizenship, a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy.” He continued:We, the people, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.
In high definition, Obama’s lined face and gray hair said all that was necessary about his education in office. Yet his voice was strong, and he and his party have now framed a clear choice, less about Obama versus Romney than about the perilous future of the American commons. ...Steve Coll, New Yorker
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