President Barack Obama will take the stage next week for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. If he wants a second term, he has to convince enough people that he is still the man for the job.
This comes hot on the heels of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where Mitt Romney worked hard to get voters to get to know him and relate to him.
The convention gave the former Massachusetts governor a slight boost. A Rasmussen poll of 1500 likely voters, conducted from August 27 through August 29, showed Obama and Romney currently tied with 45 percent each. This is the only poll taken after the RNC began. Ten days ago, a Rasmussen poll had Obama with a two-point lead.
The DNC begins on September 4 and wraps up on September 6 with President Obama's speech.
Steve Highsmith, host of NBC10 @Issue, gives us some insight on what the President will look to accomplish during the DNC and his keynote address.
Highsmith says the top order for President Obama is to convince voters he deserves another four years. "He needs to make voters comfortable and confident and convince the people who invested their vote with him four years ago that they did not waste their vote," says Highsmith. “This is a crucial question, one which Mitt Romney has begun trying to win,” adds Highsmith.
“I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division,” Romney said. “This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we can do something. With your help we will do something.”
President Obama needs to prove to voters that despite high unemployment numbers and an overall tumultuous economy, he is still the man to get the job done. He will likely talk about the groundwork he has laid out for an economic turnaround and seek to show that given more time, his plans will succeed, said Highsmith.
Highsmith predicts there will be an effort to convince people that they like “Obamacare,” and Democrats will talk more about foreign policy, women’s rights and immigration policy than was generally heard in prime time at the GOP Convention.
One of the most talked-about events from the RNC convention is actor Clint Eastwood, going on stage without a teleprompter or notes, and mocking the President by having a pretend conversation with an empty chair. Click here to watch Eastwood's speech.
The Hollywood icon also talked about tears that were shed during the election four years ago. "Everyone was crying, Oprah was crying. I was even crying," he said. "I haven't cried that hard since I found out that there are 23 million unemployed people in our country and that is something to cry for," said Eastwood.
Eva Longoria is the big name celebrity who will take the stage in support of President Obama next week.
You can expect to see a large number of female speakers, as the Obama campaign works hard to appeal to minorities and women. Female speakers include Pennsylvania Representative Allyson Schwartz, Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President Kennedy, and President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund Cecile Richards.
NBC10 is providing complete Decision 2012 and convention coverage. Our team is in North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention. Be sure to watch NBC10's Rosemary Connors' live reports on air and streaming live online and follow @RosemaryConnors, NBC10 producer @MichaelPecker10 and #DNCPhilly on Twitter, for complete coverage all week from Charlotte.
