Elizabeth Warren takes stage in coveted convention slot

CHARLOTTE – Four years ago, at his 14th Democratic National Convention, Sen. Edward Kennedy delivered his last speech. "We have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a better world," he told delegates.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Elizabeth Warren, candidate for Senate from Massachusetts, addresses the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night in Charlotte.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Elizabeth Warren, candidate for Senate from Massachusetts, addresses the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night in Charlotte.

Wednesday night, at her first convention, Elizabeth Warren sought to claim Kennedy's mantle — and his Senate seat — saying she's ready to answer the call.

In her distinctive rhetorical style, the Democratic Senate candidate from Massachusetts twice said the middle class was being "hammered." She said the system is "rigged" three times, and argued for a "level playing field" five times.

Warren is looking to dislodge Sen. Scott Brown from the Senate seat that Brown won after Kennedy's death in 2009. A prime-time speech leading into a former president would be a coveted slot for any first-time Senate candidate, and Warren herself noted that it was her first Democratic convention.

"I sure never dreamed that I'd be the warm-up act for President Bill Clinton— an amazing man who had the good sense to marry one of the coolest women on this planet," she said over chants of "Warren! Warren!"

As Warren led into Clinton, Wednesday night's prime-time speakers bridged two wings of the Democratic Party— Kennedy-like northeastern liberals and Clinton's southern, more moderate "New Democrats."

Warren represents the new liberal wing of the Democratic Party, a champion of gender equity and gay rights, but who is best known for taking on banks and Wall Street. As an expert in bankruptcy law, she fought credit card companies and was the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In her speech, Warren gave President Obama credit for the agency, saying he stood up to an "army of lobbyists" that tried to kill the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. And she noted that the new consumer bureau just had its first major enforcement action, a $210-million settlement with Capital One for what the government said were deceptive practices.

Taking a shot at GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, she said none of the small business owners she has met earned money from "risky Wall Street bets that brought down our economy." And "not one of them — not one — stashes their money in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying their fair share of taxes."

Warren herself provided the rhetorical groundwork for Obama's now-famous "You didn't build that" remark more than a year ago. "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody," she said in a viral YouTube video in 2010.

Wednesday, she said Americans "don't resent that someone else makes more money."

"We're Americans," Warren said. "We celebrate success. We just don't want the game to be rigged."

The Massachusetts contest is one of 33 races that will decide control of the Senate, and one of the most hotly contested. Democrats now control 51 seats, though two independents also caucus with them.

Brown, Warren's opponent in the Massachusetts race, noted that Warren's speech failed to give him credit for voting in favor of Dodd-Frank — giving the bill a filibuster-proof margin needed to pass the Senate.

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Analysis: Clinton argues the case for re-election

CHARLOTTE – President Obama and his Republican opponents have fought to a draw for nearly four years over the best way to fix the economy. On Wednesday, Obama turned to the Democratic Party's explainer-in-chief to win the argument: Bill Clinton.

By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Obama joins former president Bill Clinton on stage following Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Wednesday.

By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Obama joins former president Bill Clinton on stage following Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Wednesday.

The former president did what he does best. He made the case for a Democratic-style economic revival based on investments in individuals and innovation. He stood up for the man who defeated his wife four years ago and stated the case against Mitt Romney better than anyone else has been able to do. For 48 minutes, he delivered a stunning tour de force that had delegates on their feet.

"In Tampa, the Republican argument against the president's re-election was pretty simple: 'We left him a total mess, he hasn't finished cleaning it up yet, so fire him and put us back in,' " Clinton said in nominating Obama for a second term. "I like the argument for President Obama's re-election a lot better."

That Democrats turned to Clinton — whose troubled presidency nevertheless produced a flourishing economy and four years of budget surpluses — reflects their inability to make the case that Americans are better off than they were four years ago. In recent days, top Democrats have stumbled awkwardly over that question.

Clinton, perhaps better than anyone else in the party, knows how to make that case — particularly in a venue that he has mastered as a convention speaker in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and now 2012.

"He takes over the room," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. "Clinton's … masterful at making the contrast."

Clinton certainly took over the room at precisely 10:34 p.m., to the same Fleetwood Mac song that was the theme of his 1992 campaign: Don't Stop.

"I want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside, but who burns for America on the inside," he said. When he was finished, Obama came out to embrace him.

Clinton's speech was akin to a point-by-point rebuttal of the entire Republican convention in Tampa last week. It was vintage Clinton the educator, explaining to an adoring audience where their party can brag about progress and the other side cannot.

To win the four-years-ago argument, Clinton contrasted Obama's administration and the one it followed under George W. Bush— and asked which one Americans want in 2012.

"The most important question is, what kind of country do you want to live in?" Clinton said. "If you want a you're-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility — a we're-all-in-this-together society — you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden."

Economic 'building blocks'

In an interview on NBC before the speech, Clinton said his task was to make Americans understand that the economy is on the upswing — even if they can't feel it yet. The message is simple: Be patient. "That's the whole election, really," Clinton said. "People have to decide whether something they can't feel is still the right direction for the country because of things that have been done."

So the former president delivered a full-throated, occasionally humorous and extemporaneous defense of Obama's record, from the 2009 economic stimulus to financial regulation, health care and student loan overhauls. He called them "the building blocks of a new American prosperity."

The endorsement of his Democratic successor came in contrast to 2008, when Clinton was a reluctant supporter of the young senator who blocked his wife Hillary's path to the White House. Over the past four years, the two men haven't bonded personally so much, but they have seen eye-to-eye on policy.

Clinton lauded Obama for seeking compromise and conciliation while Republicans have sought to block him at every turn. "One of the main reasons we should re-elect President Obama is that he is still committed to constructive cooperation," Clinton said. As evidence, he noted Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate despite Biden's own campaign for president in 2008 — and picked another presidential contender for secretary of State.

"Heck," Clinton said, "he even appointed Hillary."

He peppered his prepared address with off-the-cuff remarks such as "Y'all better listen carefully to this, this is really important" — then responded point by point to attacks from Mitt Romney's campaign.

Clinton was eager to attack the Republican ticket — not on a personal level, but based on economic and fiscal policies he believes are ill-fated. Some of his toughest language came on issues he said were "personal to me," including GOP claims that Obama wants to dismantle the welfare overhaul Clinton signed in 1996 and his policies are responsible for a national debt that just topped $16 trillion.

"Remember, Republican economic policies quadrupled the debt before I took office and doubled it after I left," he said. "We simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle-down."

Celebrating progress

Democrats were eager for someone to make the case of Clinton-Obama vs. Bush-Romney. The Time Warner Cable Arena was packed, forcing fire marshals to close the doors.

"It's no accident that Democrats celebrate our past presidents," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., "while Republicans virtually banish theirs."

In some ways, Obama has been Clinton's equal or more. While the then-president tried and failed to overhaul the nation's health care system, Obama succeeded. And while Clinton pushed through a deficit-reduction package in 1993 that helped lead to balanced budgets years later, Obama pushed through an economic stimulus package that many economists say helped prevent another Great Depression.

The task now will be for Obama not to pale by comparison tonight.

"Obama is an outstanding orator," says George Edwards, a presidential scholar at Texas A&M University. "He can hold up to Clinton."

Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen, Gannett

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Theft of Romney records probed

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON The Secret Service said Wednesday it is investigating the reported theft of copies of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's federal tax records during a break-in at an accounting office in Franklin, Tenn. Someone claiming responsibility demanded $1 million not to make them public.

An anonymous letter sent to Romney's accounting firm and political offices in Tennessee and published online sought $1million in hard-to-trace Internet currency to prevent the disclosure of his tax filings, which have emerged as a key focus during the 2012 presidential race. Romney released his 2010 tax returns and a 2011 estimate in January, but he has refused to disclose his returns from earlier years.

Romney's accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there was no evidence that any Romney tax files were stolen.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan confirmed the agency was investigating. The Romney campaign declined to comment.

Franklin police said there were no recent alarms or break-ins reported at the site.

The building does not restrict access during business hours and has no guard. Access to the doors and elevators appear to be controlled by keycard.

The data theft was claimed in letters left with political party offices in Franklin and disclosed in several Tennessee-area newspapers.

Peter Burr, the chairman of the county's Democratic Party, said he received a version of the letter and a thumb drive on Aug. 27.

"I have no way of knowing this is real or not," he said.

An anonymous posting on a file-sharing website said the returns were stolen Aug. 25 from the accounting firm's office.

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Fact check: Bill Clinton at the DNC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Former president Bill Clinton's stem-winding nomination speech was a fact-checker's nightmare: lots of effort required to run down his many statistics and factual claims, producing little for us to write about.

By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former president Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Thursday.

By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former president Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Thursday.

Republicans will find plenty of Clinton's scorching opinions objectionable. But with few exceptions, we found his stats checked out.

Overselling 'Obamacare'

The worst we could fault him for was a suggestion that President Obama's Affordable Care Act was responsible for bringing down the rate of increase in health care spending, when the fact is that the law's main provisions have yet to take effect.

Clinton said that "for the last two years, health care costs have been under 4% in both years for the first time in 50 years." That's true, as reported by the journal Health Affairs in January of this year. But Clinton went too far when he added: "So let me ask you something. Are we better off because President Obama fought for health care reform? You bet we are."

Actually, the major provisions of the 2010 law — the individual mandate, federal subsidies to help Americans buy insurance, and big reductions in the growth of Medicare spending — haven't yet taken effect. Experts mainly blame the lousy economy for the slowdown in health care spending. As a report by economists and statisticians at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported last year, for example (as quoted in the Washington Post): "Job losses caused many people to lose employer-sponsored health insurance and, in some cases, to forgo health-care services they could not afford."

And this year, the New York Timesalso reported:

New York Times, April 28, 2012: The growth rate mostly slowed as millions of Americans lost insurance coverage along with their jobs. Worried about job security, others may have feared taking time off work for doctor's visits or surgical procedures, or skipped nonurgent care when money was tight.

The Times also quoted experts who said consumers' and physicians' behavior may be changing, and the "anticipation of the health care overhaul" could be a reason. Said the Times: "Many health care experts said they believed that the shift toward publicizing medical error rates and encouraging accountable care seemed to be paying dividends — and that providers were making changes in anticipation of the health care overhaul, which further emphasize accountable care." But that would explain only part of the slowdown, if it's truly a factor at all.

Other exaggerations

Other exaggerations and missteps were minor by comparison.

Clinton claimed Medicare will "go broke in 2016? if Romney is elected and repeals the federal health care law. Medicare will not "go broke," but a part of it — the hospital insurance trust fund — would not be able to pay full benefits for hospital services. Physician and prescription drug benefits, financed separately out of general tax revenues and premiums, wouldn't be affected.

As we explained in our Aug. 22 article, "A Campaign Full of Mediscare," the Medicare hospital trust fund is on pace to be exhausted by 2024 — or by 2016 if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. But Medicare would still collect payroll taxes sufficient to pay most hospital bills that would come due. Medicare trustees estimate the fund could pay 87% of its costs. The funding gap would continue to grow, and by 2050 the fund could cover only 67% of its bills. That's a serious situation to be sure, but it's not as though Medicare itself would suddenly halt all payments.

Clinton also exaggerated when he said Obama's 2009 stimulus bill "cut taxes for 95% of the American people." That's too high. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit cut taxes temporarily for about 95% of workers — those with "earned income." But it didn't benefit pensioners or the unemployed, for example. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated in 2010 that it benefited 76% of all families and single individuals.

Clinton was substantially correct when he said oil imports were at "a near 20-year low." He referred to a recent prediction that U.S. dependence on imported oil would fall this year to 42%, which Bloomberg News reported would be "the lowest level in two decades."

But Clinton's point was that the president's energy policies were "helping" to bring that about. Bloomberg, however, gave credit to "a boom in oil production from the shale formations of North Dakota and Texas," made possible by a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing.

And plenty of other Clinton statistics checked out as accurate. For example, he said that since 1961, when John F. Kennedy took office, 42 million private-sector jobs had been added while Democrats held the White House, compared with 24 million while Republicans were in office. And that's exactly what Bloomberg News reported in a May 8 story.

He also accused Republicans of blocking 1 million potential new jobs, but that checked out, too:

Clinton: Last year the Republicans blocked the president's job plan, costing the economy more than a million new jobs.

Two independent economists — Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics and Joel Prakken of Macroeconomics Advisers — had estimated that Obama's proposed American Jobs Act would add more than 1 million jobs. Zandi claimed it would add 1.9 million jobs; Prakken 1.3 million. Senate Republicans blocked the $447 billion measure, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell denounced it as "a charade that's meant to give Democrats a political edge" in 2012.

Oh yes — technically, Clinton's speech was to nominate Obama. When he finished, convention delegates made it official: President Obama is the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 2012.

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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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Could conventions get shorter?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — or shorter -- will become the standard for 2016 and beyond.

Conventions are expensive to put on -- the cost of the Democratic gathering was $52 million -- and their outcomes are preordained.

The broadcast TV networks, which the parties have relied on to give their prime-time speakers a large national audience, have steadily trimmed their coverage. A post-convention lift in the polls, or "bounce," is far from a given.

Democrats shortened their proceedings from four days in favor of a three-day convention preceded by an outdoor festival on Labor Day. Republicans have held two three-day conventions, as both this year's gathering and the 2008 edition were shortened by hurricanes.

The traditional four-day convention "is the equivalent of a political appendix," says Democratic consultant Chris Lehane, who served as spokesman for Al Gore's 2000 campaign. "For us, it's a great three days, it's fun ? but it ultimately was originally created for a specific function that no longer exists."

Democratic convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa says conventions could be even shorter.

"I don't think a convention needs to be four days long. I don't know if it needs to be three," said Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles.

Some of the calculation depends on how much free airtime the parties can get for their investment in the convention, Villaraigosa said. This year, broadcast networks said they would air only three nights of proceedings, and NBC showed the NFL's opening game Wednesday night.

"That may very well have an impact on these conventions, because part of what you want to have here is to be able to publicly frame the campaign and launch it. And if at some point it's not going to be covered, it's going to be difficult to do that."

At their convention in Tampa, Republicans formed a commission to study the idea of revamped conventions, including holding events in multiple cities instead of a single host city.

Conventions are "very expensive propositions," House Speaker John Boehner said in Tampa. "Given as much news as people get today and the way they get their news, I'm not sure having a four-day convention in the future makes a lot of sense," he said at a Christian Science Monitor event last week.

Delegates here enjoyed the convention too much to want to abandon it. "I can meet people I met in '04 and '08 and reconnect and re-energize," said Bill Dooling, 69, a Massachusetts delegate and retired school teacher.

"Look at what Bill Clinton did (Wednesday) night. That's why you don't have a one-day convention," said Walt Spader, an alternate from Connecticut and chairman of the North Haven, Conn., Democratic Party in line for an Obama-Biden photo booth outside the convention hall. "We can't go back to the Lincoln-Douglas debates. No one's going to listen to that for six hours. But this is the only opportunity for the parties to really talk about policy, to talk about their vision."

The Labor Day festival gave delegates the opportunity to socialize before getting down to business, says Rick Palacio, chair of the Colorado Democrats. "Now that they have the partying out of the way, now they have an opportunity to focus on all of our guest speakers and business at hand. It concentrates the mind.

"Three days seems to be just about a perfect amount of time," says Palacio, whose first convention was the Democrats' four-day gathering in Denver in 2008. Then, he wasn't head of the Democratic Party in a hotly contested swing state.

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Conventioneers like tighter 3 days

CHARLOTTE – Wrapping up two party conventions that each lasted three days instead of four, political leaders and delegates alike say three-day conventions — or shorter — will become the standard for 2016 and beyond.

By Evan Eile, USA TODAY

Former president Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday in Charlotte.

By Evan Eile, USA TODAY

Former president Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday in Charlotte.

Conventions are expensive to put on — the cost of the Democratic gathering is about $52 million — and their outcomes are preordained.

The broadcast TV networks, which the parties have relied on to give their prime-time speakers a large national audience, have steadily trimmed their coverage. A post-convention lift in the polls, or "bounce," is far from a given.

Democrats shortened their proceedings from four days in favor of a three-day convention preceded by an outdoor festival on Labor Day. Republicans have held two three-day conventions, as both this year's gathering and the 2008 edition were shortened by hurricanes.

The traditional four-day convention "is the equivalent of a political appendix," says Democratic consultant Chris Lehane, who served as spokesman for Al Gore's 2000 campaign. "For us, it's a great three days, it's fun … but it ultimately was originally created for a specific function that no longer exists."

Democratic convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa says conventions could be even shorter.

"I don't think a convention needs to be four days long. I don't know if it needs to be three," Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles, said in a USA TODAY interview Thursday.

Some of the calculation depends on how much free airtime the parties can get for their investment in the convention, Villaraigosa said. This year, broadcast networks said they would air only three nights of proceedings, and NBC showed the NFL opening game Wednesday night.

By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Mitt Romney takes the stage at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Aug. 30.

"That may very well have an impact on these conventions, because part of what you want to have here is to be able to publicly frame the campaign and launch it. And if at some point it's not going to be covered, it's going to be difficult to do that."

At their convention in Tampa, Republicans formed a commission to study the idea of revamped conventions, including holding events in multiple cities instead of a single host city.

Conventions are "very expensive propositions," House Speaker John Boehner said in Tampa. "Given as much news as people get today and the way they get their news, I'm not sure having a four-day convention in the future makes a lot of sense," he said at a Christian Science Monitor event last week.

Delegates here enjoyed the convention too much to want to abandon it. "I can meet people I met in '04 and '08 and reconnect and re-energize," said Bill Dooling, 69, a Massachusetts delegate and retired school teacher. The cost? "Democracy can be expensive."

"Look at what Bill Clinton did (Wednesday) night. That's why you don't have a one-day convention," said Walt Spader, an alternate from Connecticut and chairman of the North Haven, Conn., Democratic Party in line for an Obama-Biden photo booth outside the convention hall. "We can't go back to the Lincoln-Douglas debates. No one's going to listen to that for six hours. But this is the only opportunity for the parties to really talk about policy, to talk about their vision."

The Labor Day festival gave delegates the opportunity to socialize before getting down to business, says Rick Palacio, chair of the Colorado Democrats. "Now that they have the partying out of the way, now they have an opportunity to focus on all of our guest speakers and business at hand. It concentrates the mind.

"Three days seems to be just about a perfect amount of time," says Palacio, whose first convention was the Democrats' four-day gathering in Denver in 2008. Then, he wasn't head of the Democratic Party in a hotly contested swing state. "One more day, as chair, I may not have made it to the last day."

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