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MESSY, MESSY For all the talk of how scripted and controlled political conventions have become these days, it's still surprising just how messy
-- and revealing -- they can occasionally be. Wednesday was a prime example. First, the Democrats announced they would scrap plans to have President Barack Obama give the week's big Thursday night speech at Charlotte's open-air football stadium. They had insisted all week that rain would not deter him, but then apparently got cold (wet) feet at the prospect of busing in tens of thousands of volunteers to face rain and lightning. It all looked a little strange, as if a desire for good optics might have trumped common sense for a few days. The afternoon brought another abrupt shift. Hammered by Republicans who had discovered the Democratic platform lacked language on either God or Jerusalem, Democrats opened their convention with an unexpected set of amendments to add both in. The move disconcerted even some party faithful who weren't aware of what the amendments said before being asked to vote. Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa looked downright uncomfortable as he called for three voice votes, each inconclusive, before ruling the amendments had passed. Why put on public display such a messy, rushed-through change? Politicians don't do that unless they need to
-- unless events are moving fast and they need damage control. Obama, in a tight fight, probably can't afford controversies on issues such as whether his support for Israel is strong enough, or his party has faith in God. Messy and revealing, despite the best laid plans. --Sally Buzbee ___ CLINTON'S FUNDRAISING PLEA Minutes before former President Bill Clinton was set to deliver Wednesday's keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, he shot an email to President Barack Obama's supporters and urged them to donate at least $5 to the campaign. "Don't take anything for granted," the former president said. "When you look at what the other side is spending
-- and where they want to take this country -- none of us can afford to think that way."
The fundraising appeal was among dozens that Obama's campaign has sent recently, including those from campaign advisers warning they will likely be out-spent by GOP challenger Mitt Romney and independent "super" political committees working in his favor. --Jack Gillum ___ QUICKQUOTE: FLUKE "We talk often about choice. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to choose."
-- Sandra Fluke, attorney and women's rights activist, speaking at the Democratic National Convention. ___ THEY BUILT THAT? Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, is borrowing themes from last week's Republican National Convention to needle Paul Ryan, the budget panel's chairman and the GOP's vice presidential candidate. "The Republicans had this gigantic clock in the arena showing the size of the national debt," Van Hollen says. "Paul told America,
'If you elect Republicans, we can fix that.' But if Paul Ryan was being honest, he would have pointed to that debt clock and said:
'We built that.'" Van Hollen says the Republicans, under President George W. Bush, racked up trillions of dollars in debt by putting the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tax cuts and a new entitlement program for seniors on the nation's credit card. "Republicans didn't pay for any of it," Van Hollen says. "Paul Ryan voted for all of it." The national debt was $5.7 trillion when President Bill Clinton left office in January 2001 and it grew to $10.6 trillion under Bush. It has surpassed $16 trillion under Obama, an increase that has fueled Republican claims that Americans are not better off than they were four years ago. --Richard Lardner ___ BUSINESS SHOUTOUT Republicans had their business executives last week praising Mitt Romney. Democrats countered with their own Wednesday night. Jim Sinegal, co-founder and former CEO of Costco, said he was supporting President Barack Obama because he's "making an economy built to last." "Business needs a president who has covered businesses' backs. A president who understands what the private sector needs to succeed. A president who takes the long view and makes the tough decisions," Sinegal said.
Austin Ligon, co-founder and former CEO of CarMax Inc., expressed his appreciation for the bailout of auto industry giants GM and Chrysler. "That didn't just save the car companies -- it helped prevent a domino effect that would have taken down everything in the auto industry, from the factories that manufactured auto parts to the dealers who sold the cars," Ligon said. --Donna Cassata ___ WHAT IT'S LIKE The floor of the Democratic national convention is set up differently than the Republicans'. In Tampa, the delegates sat on one level, in chairs on the arena floor. In Charlotte, most delegates sit in the first tier of stands elevated above the floor, though a few states scored prime convention-floor spots. The slight difference in arrangements does not, however, change the basic dynamics of any political convention: Some delegates sit and listen attentively to the speakers while others throng the aisles, chatting with friends and angling for a photo with the famous. The concourses that surround the arena floor are a mix of politics and a baseball- or basketball-game vibe: Nachos! Footlong hot dogs! Schmoozing! Nancy Pelosi walks through in an electric-blue pantsuit and perfect hair, shaking hands with admirers. And of course there are the ubiquitous well-dressed, athletically fit Secret Service officers, wires in ears, standing by the exit doors. --Sally Buzbee ___ OBAMA TO BE IN HALL This just now from a person familiar with the plan: President Barack Obama is expected in the Democratic National Convention arena Wednesday evening to hear former President Bill Clinton speak. --Julie Pace ___ NO KISS CAM Michelle Obama is getting to be a regular on David Letterman's "Late Show." The first lady delivered Letterman's Top 10 list on Wednesday's show, a night after her speech before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. It was a week after her last appearance on the CBS show, her fourth time this year.
She presented the "Top Ten Reasons to Watch the Democratic National Convention." No. 6: "As a healthy alternative, we're using low-fat confetti." No. 4: "There will be no Kiss Cam." The show airs at 11:35 p.m. Eastern time. ___ NUNS ON THE BUS Among all the Democratic speakers, Sister Simone Campbell, a leader of the "Nuns on the Bus," proved to be one of the harshest critics of Rep. Paul Ryan's budget. Campbell and other Roman Catholic nuns traveled this past summer on a 2,700-mile trip through nine states to warn about the impact of the Ryan plan on the nation's less fortunate. "Paul Ryan claims his budget reflects the principles of our shared Catholic faith," Campbell told the Democratic convention Wednesday night. "But the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the Ryan budget failed a basic moral test, because it would harm families living in poverty." Campbell, who drew loud cheers, said the Catholic faith affirms "that we are all responsible for one another." She spoke out for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and urged delegates to join the Nuns on the Bus. "I am my sister's keeper. I am my brother's keeper," she said. --Donna Cassata ___ DOORS REOPEN The doors are open again outside the Democratic National Convention hall, and people are streaming in ahead of former President Bill Clinton's speech. Authorities are citing crowding concerns for their decision to briefly prevent some tightly packed crowds from entering.
Fire Marshal Rob Kinniburgh says the building was not closed but entrance was delayed because of safety concerns. He tells the AP that 1,000 people will be let in "and then we'll reassess." Kinniburgh says the fire department has been consulting with the Secret Service and the Democratic National Committee. --Michael Oreskes and Matthew Daly ___ LOCKED OUT Outside the hall at the Democratic National Convention, the doors have been sealed and lots of people are getting shut out. All the doors were sealed just before 9 p.m. and several hundred people, from delegates to press, are stuck outside. Authorities say they'll start letting people in eventually and have asked the crowd to form three single-file lines
-- which seems unlikely. "Let us in!" many shouted. It was good-natured. But they meant it. --Michael Oreskes ___ GIFFORDS IN ATTENDANCE Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was shot in an attack in her district in early 2011, is planning to be on the scene at the Democratic National Convention. Spokeswoman Hayley Zachary says Giffords is in Charlotte to attend the convention, though she has no formal role in Wednesday's schedule. "She is excited to be here," Zachary says. Giffords moved back to Tucson last month, a year and a half after she moved to Houston to undergo intensive physical and speech therapy after she was wounded by a gunman at an event outside a grocery store in her district. Giffords was among 19 people who were shot in the attack. She and 12 others survived, while six people died. --Kevin Freking ___ SHIFTING SCENERY No such thing as a plain vanilla backdrop at the Democratic National Convention. A series of massive video screens change based on the speaker. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took the podium, the Golden Gate Bridge from her hometown of San Francisco formed part of the backdrop. When former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt greeted delegates, he was framed by a nighttime skyline of Charlotte. A tribute to female Senate Democrats featured the Capitol Dome behind them. But when any members of Obama's Cabinet spoke, a soaring American flag was projected on the screens to avoid violating the Hatch Act, which bars electioneering by federal officials.
Not everyone got localized treatment from the curved, multiscreen backdrop behind the speakers. It changed to different scenes of Americana, providing a visual sampling of the sweep of localities and cultures in attendance at the Democratic National Convention. --Kenneth Thomas, Laurie Kellman, Matthew Daly
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