CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Democrats opened the final session of their national convention Thursday with a series of welcoming speeches from their North Carolina hosts, anticipating the finale address from President Obama accepting his party’s nomination for a second term.
Starting half an hour early to accommodate those squeezed out earlier in the week, delegates filtered into the hall as speakers began previewing the night’s theme, a mix of praise for the incumbent and criticism of the Republican Party and its nominee, Mitt Romney.
Rep. David E. Price of North Carolina cited the passage of sweeping healthcare reform, tighter regulation of Wall Street and other legislative victories in the face of “rule-or-ruin” GOP opposition.
“We are going to protect these achievements, and we're going to move this country in just one direction — forward,” Price said.
PHOTOS: Protests of the DNC
Folk crooner James Taylor was on hand to sing, performing several songs including — inevitably — “Carolina In My Mind,” as delegates gently swayed on the convention floor.
He joked between songs, “I’ve been watching the coverage and I don’t get it. I mean, I’m an old white guy and I love Barack Obama.” The audience, mindful of the president’s lagging support among white voters — especially those older and more conservative — laughed along with Taylor.
It was a mellow start to what was expected to be a raucous evening, culminating in Obama presenting in his own words the case for his reelection after 3½ economically grueling years.
Previewing the speech, the president’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, said its tone would be “very positive.”
“We’re not interested in coming tonight to body-slam Gov. Romney or to tear him down,” Axelrod said at a morning forum hosted by Politico. “We’re interested to come and talk about how we can lift the whole country.”
On hand to introduce Obama was Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin, playing a role he has twice performed: at the 2004 Democratic convention, when Obama delivered the keynote speech that launched his path to the White House, and 2008, when he was nominated the first time.
Hours before he took the stage, Obama apologized to disappointed supporters shut out of the speech by a decision to move the event from Charlotte’s open-air football stadium to the nearby convention arena.
PHOTOS: Scenes from the DNC
Organizers cited the threat of thunderstorms as the reason, leaving tens of thousands disappointed, including some volunteers who had worked many hours to earn a ticket to Thursday night’s program. (The campaign hoped to draw 70,000 people to Bank of America Stadium; the Time Warner Cable Arena seats no more than 20,000.)
To make it up, the president held an afternoon conference call in which he apologized for the cancellation. He thanked his supporters for their efforts and urged them to recommit to his campaign for the final, 60-day stretch.
“We can't let a little thunder and lightning get us down,” Obama said. “We have to roll with it.”
Taking the stage before Obama will be his vice president, a source of much mirth at last week's Republican convention, who will be nominated by his son, Beau, Delaware's attorney general. It is a virtual certainty Biden will deliver what has become his signature line for why, in his estimation, things are better under the Obama administration: "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."
Others in the speaking lineup include the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who is expected to offer his critique of his state's former governor, GOP nominee Romney, and extol the president's foreign policy. (Kerry is believed to be a strong contender to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who plans to retire if Obama is elected to a second term.)
In what's become a tradition, the convention will hear from a Republican-turned Democrat, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. (Former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis played that role at last week's GOP gathering in Tampa, Fla.) Crist, who was widely criticized by Republicans for hugging Obama and embracing his economic stimulus package during a 2009 presidential visit to Florida, left the party and waged a 2010 U.S. Senate bid as an independent. He was thought to be considering another run for governor as a Democrat in 2014.
Romney told a small group of reporters in New Hampshire he had not watched a minute of the Democratic gathering. When asked whether he would tune in for President Obama’s remarks tonight, he said, “Don’t plan on it.”
Romney has spent the past few days in New England in debate preparation ahead of three scheduled meetings with Obama starting Oct. 3.
— Kathleen Hennessey and Michael A. Memoli in Charlotte and Maeve Reston in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
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Starting half an hour early to accommodate those squeezed out earlier in the week, delegates filtered into the hall as speakers began previewing the night’s theme, a mix of praise for the incumbent and criticism of the Republican Party and its nominee, Mitt Romney.
Rep. David E. Price of North Carolina cited the passage of sweeping healthcare reform, tighter regulation of Wall Street and other legislative victories in the face of “rule-or-ruin” GOP opposition.
“We are going to protect these achievements, and we're going to move this country in just one direction — forward,” Price said.
PHOTOS: Protests of the DNC
Folk crooner James Taylor was on hand to sing, performing several songs including — inevitably — “Carolina In My Mind,” as delegates gently swayed on the convention floor.
He joked between songs, “I’ve been watching the coverage and I don’t get it. I mean, I’m an old white guy and I love Barack Obama.” The audience, mindful of the president’s lagging support among white voters — especially those older and more conservative — laughed along with Taylor.
It was a mellow start to what was expected to be a raucous evening, culminating in Obama presenting in his own words the case for his reelection after 3½ economically grueling years.
Previewing the speech, the president’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, said its tone would be “very positive.”
“We’re not interested in coming tonight to body-slam Gov. Romney or to tear him down,” Axelrod said at a morning forum hosted by Politico. “We’re interested to come and talk about how we can lift the whole country.”
On hand to introduce Obama was Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin, playing a role he has twice performed: at the 2004 Democratic convention, when Obama delivered the keynote speech that launched his path to the White House, and 2008, when he was nominated the first time.
Hours before he took the stage, Obama apologized to disappointed supporters shut out of the speech by a decision to move the event from Charlotte’s open-air football stadium to the nearby convention arena.
PHOTOS: Scenes from the DNC
Organizers cited the threat of thunderstorms as the reason, leaving tens of thousands disappointed, including some volunteers who had worked many hours to earn a ticket to Thursday night’s program. (The campaign hoped to draw 70,000 people to Bank of America Stadium; the Time Warner Cable Arena seats no more than 20,000.)
To make it up, the president held an afternoon conference call in which he apologized for the cancellation. He thanked his supporters for their efforts and urged them to recommit to his campaign for the final, 60-day stretch.
“We can't let a little thunder and lightning get us down,” Obama said. “We have to roll with it.”
Taking the stage before Obama will be his vice president, a source of much mirth at last week's Republican convention, who will be nominated by his son, Beau, Delaware's attorney general. It is a virtual certainty Biden will deliver what has become his signature line for why, in his estimation, things are better under the Obama administration: "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."
Others in the speaking lineup include the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who is expected to offer his critique of his state's former governor, GOP nominee Romney, and extol the president's foreign policy. (Kerry is believed to be a strong contender to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who plans to retire if Obama is elected to a second term.)
In what's become a tradition, the convention will hear from a Republican-turned Democrat, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. (Former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis played that role at last week's GOP gathering in Tampa, Fla.) Crist, who was widely criticized by Republicans for hugging Obama and embracing his economic stimulus package during a 2009 presidential visit to Florida, left the party and waged a 2010 U.S. Senate bid as an independent. He was thought to be considering another run for governor as a Democrat in 2014.
Romney told a small group of reporters in New Hampshire he had not watched a minute of the Democratic gathering. When asked whether he would tune in for President Obama’s remarks tonight, he said, “Don’t plan on it.”
Romney has spent the past few days in New England in debate preparation ahead of three scheduled meetings with Obama starting Oct. 3.
— Kathleen Hennessey and Michael A. Memoli in Charlotte and Maeve Reston in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
Follow Politics Now on Twitter and Facebook
[email protected]
Twitter: @markzbarabak