Does the Presidential candidate really want the Vice-Presidential candidate to be such a good speaker at the convention? Doesn’t that detract from his own performance? The answer is NO. He wants every speaker to be great, for several reasons. First, if everybody else is good, the pressure is less that he has to be great. Second, if the VP candidate nails it, the Presidential candidate looks wise and statesmanlike for picking the VP. Third, an exciting and well-run convention can boost donations and poll numbers significantly. Bush ran good and well-organized conventions both times. McCain’s was good. Obama’s were better. Romney’s wasn’t good. These are just my opinions, but it shows there are good conventions and bad ones.
Everybody seemed to like the convention speech. Have I ever been a speechwriter? No, but I have heard my fair share of speeches. An important thing to remember is that there are different types of speeches. With a convention speech one of the biggest goals is to amp up the energy level. It isn’t a policy speech like a State of the Union address or a service academy graduation. You are in front of thousands of fellow true believers and the real goal is to fire them up on national television. They will be prepared ahead of time with posters and signs, and you want them rocking and rolling by the end, ready to go out and riot in the streets. Sound bites, syncopation, and catchphrases are critical. It is not the time for calm and cool-headed thought. Most real politicians who do these things practice them for hours ahead of time in front of critics (which we saw Carl doing.)