Big night for Obama; a boating day for Romney

IF I MAY, some notes from  Battleground Conventions.  Thank you.

      Opening night for the Democrats unleashed a first-inning rally against the Romneyistas who had their chance in Tampa last week. The lineup of speakers left no voter group unturned: women, blacks, hispanics, gays, unionists and just plain folks who can only b e categorized as Democrats.   You expect this sort of thing at political conventions, but the D's were quite efficient in making sure they got their message across.  The cleanup hitter for the evening was, of course, Michelle Obama, who left no doubt about her enormous contribution to the Obama campaign team.

       Surprise of the night:  The blistering  speech by former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who shed his previous image as a kindly non-confrontational politician.  If he keeps this up, he will be a strong contender in a crowded Democratic field for governor in 1214.  On this night, Strickland assumed the role of Rahm Emanuel, who was a little restrained from this reputation as a glass-shatterer.  Rahm did start right off by mentioning that he and Obama were from Chicago, the city that Republicans love to hate without  knowing why.

        Aside to Bob Bennett, the Ohio Republican chairman:  He issued a press release allowing that the Democrats must have been desperate to find a spot in the speakers' lineup for former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.  Can we now conclude that the Dems' "desperation" paid off handsomely?

       Watching San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, one could only wonder what Rush Limbaugh would do with that name if the mayor ascended to a national level.  I keep hoping that a tyrant will emerge in Siberia with the first name of Rush.

     Meantime, Romney spent the day boating, perhaps satisfied  that he had convinced everybody to put their money into a Swiss vault.  His confederate, Paul Ryan,  turned up in Westlake, Oh., to complain that Obama had made Bush's anemic economic legacy "worse", which was a takeoff on Romney's  notion that "The economy is getting better but Obama made it worse."(I've sent that one to Rosetta Stone for a translation, but haven't heard back. Cognitive dissonance can be challenging.)