Obama Abandons the Democrats

What else can you call it? Barack Obama announced that he will give his acceptance speech at an outdoor stadium instead of at the Democratic National Convention. This has some implications for the party. Not only is he distancing himself from them, he is hurting their coverage. The networks decided to cut back on the amount of money they spend on the convention.

So, why is he doing it? His announced reason is, "Sometimes our conventions don't feel like they are open to everybody. For us to be able to do it in Invesco Field is an opportunity for 80,000 people who might otherwise not have been able to participate to get involved."

There are other possibilities. The Democrats in Congress have a lower popularity rating than President Bush and he might be afraid of it rubbing off.

Or he could be emulating Kennedy who did something similar in 1960. Obama has been trying to position himself as the new Kennedy including appointing JFK's daughter to the team vetting vice-presidents.

In the meantime, the Democrats need Obama to bail out the convention itself. The party is $12 million short of the amount they need to pay for the convention. They need Obama's deep pockets.