Those wacky Democrats

Posting for Amy Sullivan

I can't be totally sure, but it's possible that the press box is about to be crushed by a herd of rampaging buffalo. It's either that or the fact that nearly all of Invesco stadium is full of people stamping their feet to amuse themselves between acts. We've also seen several iterations of The Wave and a fair amount of beach balls bouncing along through the crowd.

At a lunch discussion yesterday, Stan Greenberg and James Carville (okay, they're Clinton partisans, but Carville especially seemed much more high on Obama than his recent "She's been disrespected!" tv appearances might indicate) worried about the visuals of a stadium acceptance speech. But they didn't voice the common concern that the setting would provide more fodder for "celebrity" attacks. Instead, they wondered if it would inspire an even more festive atmosphere than usual. "The country is struggling," said Carville, "and those people are gonna be doing the Wave."

We'll know soon enough, I suppose. There are a lot of upsides to excitement and enthusiasm. But we'll find out if the convention's two conflicting messages--the country is going down the tubes! the country has never had such hope and possibility and thirst for progress!--are less effective than the "be afraid, be very afraid."