The Democratic National Convention is officially underway, capped off by a speech by first lady Michelle Obama last night in Charlotte North Carolina.
Last week the Republicans had their say, with a key message being they believe Obama's plan for fixing the economy is not working, while Democrats say they just need more time. But Dave Rausch, Bivins Professor of Political Science, believes most people get their election information from political ads, which are too short to properly get the information across.
"The challenge is that economics does not make good politics." said Rausch. "Economic plans can't be broadcasted in 30 second commercial."
The conventions are used yearly as a session for the parties to come together, sometimes after heated nomination battles, to rally their voting bases.
"The job of the conventions is really to mobilize those people in the party who may or may not vote." said Rausch. "You're trying to mobilize them, trying to get people. It's called the base, get the party base to vote."
President Obama's speech on Thursday has been moved indoors due to inclement weather, to the Time Warner Cable Arena.
