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Dem convention opens with focus on Obama accomplishments - USA TODAY

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 09:06 AM PDT

CHARLOTTE – Campaign 2012's rhetoric promises to heat up as the Democratic National Convention opens Tuesday night with the party taking to the national stage to combat the increasingly harsh political salvos of Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

First lady Michelle Obama waves after walking the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Tuesday.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

First lady Michelle Obama waves after walking the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Tuesday.

With the November election a virtual toss-up and President Obama's re-election bid hampered by the anemic economy and stubbornly high unemployment, the three-day convention is expected to be less about 2008's message of hope than making sure voters get the message of what's been accomplished and what needs to be done. Another core theme: the sharp contrast between a Romney presidency and four more years of Obama.

In an interview with USA TODAY aboard Air Force One, Obama telegraphed the party's mission this week: defending his record, attacking Romney and convincing voters that America is better off than it was four years ago. The central themes: Obama kept the economy from plunging into recession, bailed out the now revived automobile industry, revamped health care, ended the war in Iraq and gave the orders to eliminate terrorist Osama bin Laden.

"Gov. Romney spent a lot of time talking about himself and he spent a lot of time talking about me. He didn't spend a lot of time talking about the American people and how their lives will get better," Obama told USA TODAY. "I guess their premise is that the American people will be convinced, if we just get rid of Obama, then somehow that will be enough."

The president and aides have acknowledged that Democrats are likely to be outspent by Romney in key battleground states. So the three-day convention amounts to some much-needed PR.

Tonight's prime-time highlight: First lady Michelle Obama, who closes with a 20 minute speech scheduled for 10:35 ET.

"I am going to remind people about the values that drive my husband to do what he has done and what he is going to do for the next four years," Michelle Obama told SiriusXM radio host Joe Madison in a taped interview aired Tuesday. "I am going to take folks back to the man that he was before he was president, because the truth is that he has grown so much — but in terms of his core character and values, that has not been changed at all."

Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker will present the party platform at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday. Other prime-time players include Chicago Mayor and former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley— whose "no" answer to a question Sunday on whether Americans are better off now than four years ago made a soundbite pounced on by Republicans.

O'Malley clarified his comment Monday: "None of us would disagree with the fact that we have not yet recovered from the Bush recession," he told USA TODAY and Gannett reporters during a Newsmaker session. "Clearly, we're headed in the right direction."

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, a rising star and Hispanic, will deliver Tuesday night's keynote address. The 37-year-old Castro and his identical twin, Joaquin, have something in common with Obama: They were raised by a single mother and earned Harvard law degrees.

Obama is scheduled to speak Thursday.

Modesto Tico Valle, an Illinois delegate from Chicago, said the convention is key to Obama's re-election.

"Most definitely, President Obama must say loudly and strongly that we are much better off today than four years ago,'' said Valle, the 48-year-old CEO of Halstead, an advocate organization for the lesbian, gay and transgender community. "The economy is slowly recovering from where it was when we got it, jobs are slowly coming back. There has been great progress made in LGBT and women's rights, among seniors and with health care. The choice is clear between Obama and the dark ages. He is the one that is moving us forward."

Democrats released a party platform for ratification Tuesday underscoring Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy and support for gay marriage. And Tuesday morning, the party made its case for Obama through U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren on morning TV talk shows. Warren, who is challenging first-term Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, conceded that many Americans have it tough, but said Obama offers the better vision going forward. "Republicans are not helping us get back," she said.

Republican GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, also making the talk show rounds, continued to hammer Obama's record on the economy. "Four years into a presidency and it's incomplete?" he asked. "The president is asking people just to be patient with him?''

Romney's campaign reinforced that message with a new Internet video answering Obama's statement that "There are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery." The video showcases a series of ordinary Americans who've lost their jobs saying, "I'm an American, not a bump in the road."

Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Commitee, said many of the economic assumptions built into the Romney/Ryan budget plan just don't add up.

"I call it marathon math,'' Van Hollen told USA TODAY, referring to the flap over Ryan's claim that he once ran a marathon an hour faster than he did.

"If there's one thing you need to do on the budget committee, it's learn how to count," he said. "There's a lot of funny math in the Ryan budget."

Contributing: Gregory Korte, David Jackson, Catlina Camia and John McAuliff in Charlotte; Associated Press

Tuesday on 'ABC World News': San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro to Speak with ... - ABC News (blog)

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 03:46 PM PDT

Sep 3, 2012 6:42pm

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro to Speak with Diane Sawyer in Advance of His Keynote Speech

Interview to Air on Tuesday Night on "ABC World News" from Charlotte, North Carolina

"ABC World News" anchor Diane Sawyer will talk to San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro on Tuesday, September 4. Mayor Castro is set to kick off the Democratic National Convention as its keynote speaker. The interview will air Tuesday night on "World News with Diane Sawyer." Portions of the interview will also be highlighted on ABCNews.com, Yahoo!, ABC News Radio, and ABC's local affiliates.

As part of ABC's special "Your Voice, Your Vote" coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, Diane Sawyer will be talking to all of the key players in both Florida and North Carolina. Last week in Tampa Sawyer spoke with Mitt and Ann Romney's five sons, Speaker of the House John Boehner, had an exclusive interview with Ann Romney in advance of her convention speech, and spoke with former Governor Jeb Bush.

"ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" airs at 6:30 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network and on WFTS-TV locally in Tampa. Michael Corn is the executive producer of the broadcast. Follow Diane Sawyer and the "World News" team online: @DianeSawyer; @ABCWorldNews; facebook.com/DianeSawyer; facebook.com/WorldNews.

SHOWS: World News

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Selasa, 4 September 2012