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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Obama's Speech and 2012 Conventions, Revisited

    President Obama traded the dramatic "hope and promises" of four years ago for running on his record as he accepted his party's nomination last night in Charlotte.

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    KCRW placeholderBy Judy Muller • Sep 7, 2012 • 51m Listen

    President Obama accepted the nomination of his party last night in Charlotte with a dramatic change in tone from four years ago. Then, he was full of hope and promises. This time, he was running on his record. The president outlined the stark differences between the two parties and the accomplishments of his administration. Did it convince those important undecided voters in swing states to give him four more years? Will he get a bounce out of this convention or will today's jobless figures undermine that? Also, how the Democratic Convention compares to last week's GOP show in Tampa. Who framed the clearest message? Was the expense worth it? Judy Muller guest hosts.

    Banner image: Supporters wave flags as President Barack Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina September 6, 2012. Photo by Steve Nesius/Reuters

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 0:00

      Disappointing August Jobs Numbers

      President Obama would have loved some good economic figures coming out of this convention, but that's not what he got this morning. Job growth slowed substantially in August, with a total of 96, 000 jobs added, far below the 125,000 economists had been expecting. Pedro da Costa is economics correspondent for Reuters News Service .

      Read the story
      8 min
    2. 7:36

      President Obama Swings for the Fences and Fence-Straddlers

      Last night in Charlotte, President Barack Obama made his plea for a second term with a tone of humility. "I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the President." The speech lacked the soaring rhetoric of candidate Obama in 2008. Instead, it was grounded in the prose of reality – what's been accomplished, what remains to be done.

      Read the story
      23 min
    3. 30:13

      Conventions: Do We Need Them?

      For some time now, political conventions have been scripted, long-form commercials aimed at selling the candidate to the electorate. This year's Republican and Democratic conventions cost taxpayers about $68 million for each party's gathering.

      Read the story
      21 min
    • KCRW placeholder

      Judy Muller

      University of Southern California

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

      NewsNationalPolitics

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 0:008 min

      Disappointing August Jobs Numbers

    2. 7:3623 min

      President Obama Swings for the Fences and Fence-Straddlers

    3. 30:1321 min

      Conventions: Do We Need Them?

    Back to To the Point