Weather Threat Prompts Democrats to Move Obama Speech

Posted September 5th, 2012 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
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Officials at the Democratic National Convention have decided to move President Barack Obama's acceptance speech indoors because of the threat of severe weather, a problem that plagued Republicans at their convention last week.

Convention organizers said that Mr. Obama's Thursday acceptance speech would take place at the indoor Time Warner Cable Arena because of the possibility of severe thunderstorms in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. He had been scheduled to speak at the Bank of America Stadium — a much larger outdoor arena.

In a statement, convention organizer Steve Kerrigan said the group shared the “disappointment of over 65,000 people” who had signed up for credentials to attend the outdoor event. He said Mr. Obama would speak to them during a Wednesday conference call.

Last week, Republican National Convention organizers scrubbed most of their first day events in Tampa, Florida, as Tropical Storm Isaac churned toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Meanwhile, former U.S. President Bill Clinton takes the spotlight at the Democratic convention on Wednesday, adding more high-profile support for Mr. Obama's re-election.

Mr. Clinton, the 42nd American president, will formally place the 44th president's name up for nomination during a nationally televised address. The relationship between the two Democrats has improved in the years since Mr. Obama defeated the former president's wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2008 nomination campaign.

Mr. Clinton remains a popular figure among many Americans due to the economic prosperity during his two terms in office in the 1990s, and analysts say he could help Mr. Obama win support from older white working-class Americans.

The highlight of Tuesday's opening night at the Democratic convention was a speech by first lady Michelle Obama, who talked about her husband's character and ability to make tough political choices.

“Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn't care whether it was the easy thing to do politically –that's not how he was raised–he cared that it was the right thing to do.”

Democrats spent much of Tuesday's opening day reaching out to women voters, with Mrs. Obama recounting how the president's early background — and his grandmother's employment setbacks — helped shape his governing policies as president.