Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech

   Tuesday was Michelle, last night was President Clinton, and tonight is our sitting President Barack Obama. If President Obama wants to stay in that chair, the stage has been set. His will likely be the most watched speech of either convention - if it's not, he is in deep, deep, DEEP trouble. Tonight he must make the case for four more years, but how does he do that?

   

   The case for four more years is a complicated one. The moment any president is elected they face an uphill battle named Expectations. Due to the tone and promises from the 2008 campaign, President Obama has been facing Great Expectations. When you don't meet those expectations, you set yourself up for disappointment, who is a package deal with doubt. So, when he goes on stage, Barack will be facing great disappointment and great doubt. President Obama's speech must convince the independent voters, the unemployed and underemployed voters, and the disenfranchised voters that if they give him four more years, the disappointment and doubt will not continue. 

   To use a cliche, the tone should be that it is always darkest before the dawn. Clinton said a lot of things in his speech, but the one that is the most helpful to Barack's re-election is that he created a floor and stopped the economic fall. Mr. Obama should take this and run with it. Are we better off than we were four years ago? He should propose that yes we are, and then he should ask voters to remember what it was like between September 2008 and January 2009. Relatively speaking, there is definitely a greater sense of stability now. In 2009, unemployment topped out at 10%, in 2010 it hovered around the upper 9's, in 2011 it dropped into the high 8's, and as he is speaking tonight it is working towards 8%. He should contend that we have been through darkness, and that soon the light will be coming. 

   Obamacare, the debt, budgets and spending, women's issues, and any temptation to talk about social issues should be avoided as much as possible. The message will have to be direct and simple, "My plan to create jobs is working." The simplicity and connection to all these voter groups is even more important considering who will be introducing the President. Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson, Kerry Washington and possibly Natalie Portman will all be part of the build up to Obama's speech. This is a massive error. Having Bill Clinton speak was bad enough for the re-election efforts, but this is even worse. Having these ladies talk is a polar opposite to Clint Eastwood at the RNC convention. First, that was just one person with a long and tenured public life. Second, he has displayed that he is not a dyed in the wool republican. Clint has been on the record as saying "I like the libertarian view which is to leave everyone alone", and he has consistently worked to help candidates on both sides. He even held fundraisers for California Democratic Governor Gray Davis. Third, theses ladies are all known liberal democrats. Mr. Eastwood was a mayor, none of these ladies have policy experience that would suggest they have any clue who should be elected President. Lastly and most importantly, it showcases the idea that he is a pop culture President who is inexperienced and not up to the task. It even flaunts it. If things do not change at the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago, and fast, it will be a long, long, L O N G 60 days for them.