naked candidate

In my previous post I addressed some of the concerns I have with the way our convention started. Mainly, I am hoping we can stay on task and stay on message and really find a way to speak to voters still uncommitted one way or the other. I hope night two has a bit more bite to it.

My final thought on night one is simply: What was up with the live feed from Kansas City?

Did the spectacle of Barack sitting in the living room of the Girardeau family seem strange to anyone else? What exactly was the thought behind Obama appearing with this family? It seemed pandering to me, a little staged – Obama with a typical family from Missouri. Did he watch the convention with them or was this merely a nice photo opp?

Obama can pull off a lot of things very well but this was a bit much. I understand his apparent need to seem down to earth and an average American, but wouldn’t it have been just as effective having him appear on his own? Perhaps my feeling was exacerbated because this scene followed a very sincere and very moving speech from his wife, Michelle.

That being said, Sasha Obama’s greeting to the Girardeau family was cute. Perhaps she made up for the contrived feel of the rest of the scene.

UPDATE

Here’s some info about the live feed from the Girardeau Home Last night:

The Girardeau family, who has a neighbor on Obama’s campaign, had 28 hours’ notice that the Obama’s visit could happen. They didn’t know for sure until Monday morning.

They unplugged their phone and kept their 10-year-old home from school so they wouldn’t tell anybody. Alicia said she didn’t have to do too much cleaning or rearranging to make room for everybody.

Jim: “I was nervous about just chatting with the possible president of the United States.”

Alicia: “It was such a privilege to be there with him while he was watching his wife give probably the most important speech of her life. You felt like you were witness to some really intimate, private moment.”

Both are or have been social workers.

When Michelle spoke of how “the current of history meets this new tide of hope,” she added: “That is why I love this country.”

Many in the audience may have been reminded of the criticism she’s experienced since saying early in the primaries that “for the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country,” referring to voters accepting Obama.

Shortly before Michelle finished, a tech in the Girardeau home said, “Everybody take positions please.”

Everyone seemed to know what to do for the coming link-up with Denver. Alicia Girardeau moved from her chair to squeeze into the couch between Obama and her husband. Daughters Hannah, 18, and Lindsay, 15, rushed from the seat they were sharing on an ottoman to stand behind the couch. Grace, 10, remained in her position on the couch.

“Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since,” Michelle Obama said. “He talked about ‘the world as it is’ and ‘the world as it should be.’ And he said that all too often we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is — even when it doesn’t reflect our values and aspirations.

“But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves — to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn’t that the great American story?”

Only at the very end, as Michelle Obama dedicated their campaign “in honor of my father’s memory and my daughters’ future,” did the senator from Illinois lighten up. A smile streaked across his once-solemn face, and he looked up at the Girardeaus and the assembled reporters.

As Michelle finished, Obama turned toward the Girardeaus and the assembled media and said: “So what do you think? She’s pretty good, huh? She’s pretty good.”

Pausing and smiling, he then repeated: ”I thought she was pretty good. She was fantastic.”

He then said he was glad they didn’t pan to his mother-in-law because he would have gotten choked up.

A few seconds later, Obama was seen in the convention hall in a rather awkward satellite link-up, where he quickly congratulated his wife and greeted his daughters. Despite a cue card taped below the Kansas City camera with the very clear opening line — including the words “Kansas City” — he said he was in St. Louis, although he corrected himself moments later. The names of the family members were also on the cue card.

But he got a laugh from the convention delegates: “Now you know why I asked her out so many times, even though she said no. …You want a persistent president.”

When the link was shut down, he again told reporters that his wife had performed well.

“I’m not surprised. When she does something, she does it well,” he said.

“She told her story, and that’s it. It’s a story a lot of families can relate to. You know, her dad struggled and worked hard,” he added.

Afterward, Obama said he “was more nervous watching her than me delivering a speech.” Asked why he didn’t say much, Obama said simply, “I was listening.”