Obama to state his case

President Barack Obama finds himself in a delicate position as Democrats descend on Charlotte, N.C., for their party's national convention.

He must build his case for a second term amid continuing economic anxiety, reminding Americans how bad things were when he took office in January 2009 and arguing that the situation could again deteriorate if he loses the White House.

But even the most effective argument from the president may not immediately be reflected in public-opinion polls despite the extensive media coverage planned for this week's three-day Democratic convention, which begins Tuesday and runs through Thursday.

Such events rarely provide as much of a boost in the polls for presidents as they do for their challengers, simply because Americans already have well-formed opinions of their chief executives after four years in office.

Obama's job-approval rating stood at 45 percent as the Republican National Convention got under way in Tampa on Monday. Only one president -- Republican George W. Bush in 2004 -- has won re-election with an approval number below 50 percent.

Obama cannot rest his case on accomplishments such as the 2011 killing of international terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Historically, the economy has been key in determining a first-term president's fate, and the slow post-recession progress is a challenge for him.

In Charlotte, Democrats are expected to keep the heat on Obama's Republican opponents, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his vice- presidential running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a ticket that Democrats have tried to paint as extreme on issues such as Medicare reform and immigration. And, in an attempt to change the conversation from the economy, Democrats likely will highlight contrasts with the GOP platform on social issues such as abortion rights, which Republicans oppose.

"Remember, President Obama inherited the largest set of problems at once of any president since FDR," said Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chairwoman and a Florida congresswoman. "The economy was hemorrhaging 750,000 jobs a month when he took office. And now, after almost four years of his policies, including the recovery act, which saved those teacher and first-responder jobs and created new green-energy jobs, we've had 29 straight months of job growth in the private sector. We've begun to turn things around."

The Romney-Ryan ticket offers a return to "the snake oil that never worked when the Republicans tried it," Wasserman Schultz told The Arizona Republic, as well as to policies that Democrats blame for bringing about "the worst economic crisis that any of us living today have ever faced."

So far, voters are not convinced. National polls released ahead of last week's GOP convention showed the presidential race deadlocked. Some had Romney with leads within the surveys' margins of error.

"The economy isn't good enough for the president to break out, but it's not bad enough for Romney to seize the lead," said John J. "Jack" Pitney Jr., a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California. "So it's not surprising that they are running roughly even. It's unlikely that there will be such a big (economic) surge that the president will be able to coast."

The late-summer political conventions, where the major parties' candidates are officially nominated, and Labor Day mark the traditional point at which many undecided and independent voters start paying attention to the presidential race. Romney accepted the GOP nomination last week at a convention featuring themes such as "We Can Do Better" and "We Can Change It."

This week's Democratic convention in North Carolina, a swing state that Obama carried in 2008, "will be the most open and accessible and inclusive national convention that's ever been held in history" and will provide clear contrasts with the Republicans on diversity and other issues, Wasserman Schultz said.

Obama will deliver his nomination acceptance speech Thursday in front of an anticipated crowd of thousands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will become the first Hispanic to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic convention. Other featured speakers include former President Bill Clinton, actress Eva Longoria, convention chairman and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, 2004 presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown Law School graduate whose advocacy for contraception coverage earned her scorn -- and an apology -- from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican turned independent who endorsed Obama last month, also is expected to appear.

Charlotte is expecting 35,000 visitors, including Arizona Democrats such as U.S. Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Ed Pastor; Arizona Corporation Commissioner Sandra Kennedy; Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton; Phoenix City Councilmen Michael Johnson and Michael Nowakowski; Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox; state Sen. David Schapira; state Reps. Ruben Gallego and Anna Tovar; and Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris.

There also has been speculation that former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords might show up. Mark Kelly, Giffords' retired astronaut husband, said in April that an appearance was possible if her rehabilitation regimen allowed for the trip to North Carolina. Giffords resigned Jan. 25 to focus on her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head that she suffered in a 2011 assassination attempt.

Richard Carmona, the former U.S. surgeon general who is running against U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., for Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat, is campaigning in Arizona this week and will not attend the convention. Carmona, a former independent, entered the Senate race as a Democrat at the urging of Obama and other senior national Democrats.

Acknowledging that the economy is a concern, Grijalva said he hopes the convention conveys a tone and message that Obama and Democrats are serious about issues facing the nation. He said it's unfair for Republicans to blame the last few years on Obama and Vice President Joe Biden when Congress failed to take more aggressive action on the recovery. Republicans regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections.

"The fingers are being pointed at Democrats. This is an opportunity to point them back," Grijalva said.

Pastor, the senior member of Arizona's U.S. House delegation, also said he believes Obama can ultimately sway voters on the economy.

"He's arguing that the hole that he inherited in terms of the economy was pretty deep, but that we're slowly getting out of it," Pastor said. "He's holding his own."

But Pastor also said he hopes the Democrats will use the convention to continue to press Republicans on social issues such as abortion and gay rights following the furor over comments about rape made by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, an anti-abortion Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri. Akin sparked outrage by claiming that "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy because women's bodies respond in a way that stops it.

"Keep Todd Akin on TV," Pastor said. "What's happening in Missouri sure as hell isn't going to endear a lot of women to their cause. And their (tough-on- illegal-immigration) platform isn't going to endear a lot of Hispanics to the Republican ticket. Medicare is still going to play, and we'll just keep pounding away."

However, one political observer said the Democratic convention runs the risk of coming across as "boring," given that the party is so solidly behind Obama and there is no trace of party infighting or conflict. In addition to continuing to define Romney in a way that drives up the Republican's negative numbers and lay out a plan for his second term, Obama also needs to keep his troops fired up for the battle ahead, said Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of NDN, a left-of-center think tank in Washington, D.C. The Republican convention, against the backdrop of a hurricane, provided more drama.

"The question is whether the boringness and the togetherness of the Democratic Party right now, which is not a typical situation, is going to be a problem in itself," Rosenberg said. "Where's the excitement going to come from in this convention? ? You could make the argument that Obama has done a good job at keeping this diverse coalition together."

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