Rather's Journal: Going Positive

CBS Anchor: Will Edwards' Refusal To Go Negative Pay Off?

(CBS)  CBS News Anchor Dan Rather offers personal insight and observations from the convention.

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Boston - Democratic Convention, Day Three - July 28, 2004

The Democratic Convention may have finally made its move from Dullsville to something a little more interesting. Word has it that "barak," -- or Barack -- means "lightning" in Hebrew and "blessing" in Swahili. True or not, Tuesday night the Democrats got the blessing of lightning from Barack Obama, who has drawn raves as one of the most effective convention speakers -- of either party -- in years. Senate candidate Barack's keynote address was strong on many points, but none more so than when he said that "there's not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there's the United States of America," a line aimed at the beating heart of independent and swing voters in key states.

It's become clear today that Barack's speech was but the overture for what has developed into a veritable symphonic theme for the Democrats: We will unite America or, as John Edwards told the delegates tonight, "We can build one America."

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It is, of course, an implicit invitation to voters to conclude that President Bush has left unfulfilled his pledge to be "a uniter, not a divider." With all the "red-state/blue-state" talk you hear from the pundits, it seems to be a savvy move. But the fact remains that America was almost evenly divided in 2000, appears to be so again at this juncture, and one can imagine that it will be so again in 2008. Who knows? What we do know is that in this polarized climate, those independent and swing voters -- especially women -- have become even more important. It's highly likely that, as they go, so will go the election.

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With the vestigial thrill that came from the Reverend Al Sharpton's mere mention of Ray Charles's rendition of "America the Beautiful" (which, it should be remembered, Charles sang at the 1984 Republican Convention), with the performances Wednesday from John Mellencamp and the Black-Eyed Peas ... isn't it clear that just about everyone here would rather be at a concert? And with that in mind, let tonight be remembered as the night that the convention finally started playing something other than what I think of as not very good wedding reception music and musty hits from the '60s.

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There's been a trend developing in political rhetoric in recent years of not, well, using rhetoric. Instead of metaphor or adornment, the message gets stated nakedly as the message. Some trace it back to President Bush the elder's "Message: I care," and more evidence of this trend could be heard tonight in John Edwards talking about how "For the last few months, John has been talking about his positive, optimistic vision for the country." Whether this trend signals an intentional dumbing down or a breakdown of American speechwriting talent is yet to be determined, but we promise to get to the bottom of it eventually.

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John Edwards' self-conscious and oft-repeated refusal to go negative in the primary campaign may have landed him the number two spot on the ticket ... and holding -- for the most part -- to that style led him to break an informal tradition for convention speeches by vice-presidential candidates of either party: That they primarily consist of red-meat, partisan appeals to the delegates in the hall and to the party's base. We'll have to wait to see how Edwards' decision to add his own chapter to this history eventually serves or does not serve his candidate, but it also raises the question of whether we'll see a likewise move from Vice President Cheney when the Republicans meet in New York.


Rather's Journal, Day 1: Convention OpenerRather's Journal, Day 2: Dullsville