Mutual Bounce = Wash

At this point it looks like the Democratic and Republican conventions provided moderate bounces for their respective candidates effectively making them a wash. What they did do was bring the electorate into the race. As hard as it might be to imagine, I think the majority of the American people have not been paying close attention to the campaigns thus far but the Palin tabloids and resulting drama have sparked people's interest and, in my opinion, reduced politics down to its lowest common denominator. Depressing. But at least people are paying attention now as was demonstrated by Obama, Palin, and McCain each grabbing record breaking ratings for their convention speeches (Palin for a VP and Obama and McCain for Ps).

So the question now is, Now that they have the audiences attention what are the candidates going to do with it? Honestly, I don't know. Most of what I have heard and read seems to cohere around the idea that Obama should ignore Palin and go after McCain. And although McCain looks better off than before the conventions in terms of having injected some life back into his campaign, I don't think there is much consensus about where he goes from here. Most people believe that he has effectively rallied the base. But in a year when only 28% of the electorate identifies themselves as Republicans, I am not sure that's really what he wanted to do.

Personally, I think Obama went too far on focusing on the issues. He needs to find a good balance. Before he was "all talk" and got a reputation as a Hollywood star with many admitting to Obama fatigue. Since then - and for the most part during the convention - he tried to get back to the meat and potatoes issues that really effect people's lives. Both are appealing to me. But, although I wish the American people at large based their decisions to a greater degree on the issues, it is pretty obvious that this most do not. If McCain can make this race about character and personal biography, he stands a chance. If Obama can make this about the issues and reclaiming America's position as a valued leader in the world then McCain is toast. We'll see...