Balloons and Confetti a Nominating Convention Make
Just five days ago, John Kerry’s pitch at Fenway Park didn’t make it past home plate, but his pitch last night to the Democratic National Convention was a home run. Your Crystal Ball will spare you the barrage of cliches reserved for the headlines of today’s newspapers, but Kerry was a bit eloquent and personal at a time when he needed to strike a chord with his viewers. It’s hard to imagine him flubbing this one–as we argued on Monday, Kerry had a 99.9 percent chance of succeeding last night. With a new Annenburg Public Policy Center poll showing equal favorable and unfavorable marks for Kerry among persuadable voters, the Massachusetts senator had to connect his life story and his vision for the country while making voters comfortable with him as president. He did just that by weaving a focus on national security with a promise that “our best days are still to come.” This is not to say that Kerry’s acceptance speech was the best thing since sliced bread. On stage Kerry looked a bit sweaty, his hand gestures a bit rigid, and his timing was a bit rushed. He even seemed a bit modest every time he raised