Max's Mewsings

On the Floor:
The floor show is critical to creating an impression of momentum on television. What looks good in the hall often looks lousy to people watching from their living rooms. The Democrats needed to leave television viewers with the feeling the party is united behind Mr. Kerry and enthusiastic about its candidate. To do that well you need a "single message" on the floor or, in other words, everyone needs to appear to be doing the same thing at the same time.

The Kerry-Edwards team had at least four messages on the floor. There were three different Kerry-Edwards signs competing for space and they handed out thousands of hand held flags for people to wave. The audience looked like any other crowd instead of looking like they were going crazy for Kerry - not because they weren't going crazy but because all of the different signs and colours made the thing look more like a bunch of people milling around.

Mr. Kerry's Makeup:
Whoever did Mr. Kerry's makeup goofed. Even the clips I saw from the beginning of the speech showed he was shiny. That is difficult to completely avoid in the heat, under the lights and in a room crammed with people, but he should not have started out that way. What's worse is he looked yellow and sickly - not the "vibrant leader" impression they were trying to deliver.

Balloons:
A technical glitch after Mr. Kerry's speech broadcast the voice of a frantic event producer live on CNN. He was begging his crew to let the balloons drop from the ceiling and in his frustration may have used a naughty word. An Associated Press story implies CNN may have deliberately broadcast the sorry episode - I doubt it.

A Democratic Party Spokesperson says there was no balloon problem. It is an unbelievable statement in the face of what many, myself included, heard on CNN. The frustration in the producer's voice was clear and shots of the convention ceiling showed tons of balloons still in their netting. The Dems have lucked out because the media drop stories about their own screw-ups, otherwise that spokesperson's comment would come back to haunt him.

So, based on the event visuals, the impression left with this viewer was: John Kerry is a sickly-looking man who can't even get balloons to fall from the ceiling on cue with tepid support form his party.