Charlotte's Web -- DNC Day 1

I watched a few hours of the DNC convention in Charlotte. Time for the amateur punditry!

• At the outset, I'll mention that the whole evening was an excellent example of how to thrash a straw man. I've always been told that Republicans are the ones who tend to view the world in Manichean terms, but yesterday was a festival of us-versus-them. And most of it was crap, of course.
• One thing that was evident from the get-go is the desperation the Democrats are feeling. This is not a confident party right now and the hectoring from the platform was tough to listen to at times. Some of the speakers, especially former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and the sainted Lily Ledbetter, gave their speeches at a pitch that was nothing less than a full-throated scream. I suppose you could chalk that up to passion, or something, but it wears on you after a while.
• It was revealing that Nancy Keenan from NARAL got as much time as she did on the podium. I checked the list of speakers from the RNC and they didn't give any time on the podium to a lobbyist, especially one who represented an organization like NARAL. She was screaming, too.
• The Dems rolled out the usual "I used to be a Republican" suspects as well, including a woman named Maria Ciano. Ciano had been featured in ads before and it turns out that she's been a Dem operative since at least 2006. They also rolled out Lincoln Chafee, the governor of Rhode Island. He still calls himself an independent, but he's been an operational Democrat for at least as long as Ciano. I assume that Chafee is still an independent because the national Democratic party is smart enough to not want him.
• Amidst all the screaming, Kathleen Sebelius did a very credible Nurse Ratched imitation. She's kinda chilling, actually.
• I've heard that Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, is supposedly a contender for 2016. Based on his lackluster performance yesterday, it's hard to see that. Less charisma than Tim Pawlenty, even.
• The keynote speaker was Julian Castro, who is the mayor of San Antonio. His speech reminded me a lot of the speech that Marco Rubio gave last week at the RNC, including the "my grandmother held a mop so I could hold this microphone" trope that was the same as the one Rubio used about his father working the back of the room as a bartender. Castro's problem isn't a lack of charisma or a good personal story; rather, his problem is geography. He's stuck in Texas and it's awfully difficult to see how he can move up to become a senator or governor there. I've read a few places where DNC touts are claiming that Castro could be the first Hispanic president. Perhaps, but I can think of at least three people on the Republican side who are further up the ladder -- Rubio, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Ted Cruz, who is the odds-on favorite to win election to the Senate in Texas. Cruz in particular is problematic for Castro's prospects, since he's from the same state.
• Michelle Obama's speech was very nice. She's improved a lot since 2008.
• I wish I'd seen Cory Booker's speech; I'll try to find it and watch it later. From what I can tell, he's the one young star on the Dem bench who has a chance to get somewhere, especially since New Jersey is considerably more amenable to Democrats than some other places. While I like Chris Christie's ability to throw the red meat, I'm guessing his act will grow stale and Booker will have a chance to move up at some point.

To sum up -- did the Democrats have a good day yesterday? I suppose, to the extent anyone is paying attention. All their efforts could go poof on Friday, though, when the jobs report comes out. In the end, personal anecdotes and stem-winding speeches can't change the reality that too many Americans are suffering right now. It's going to take one hell of a sales pitch to convince people that better times are ahead if we stay the current course.