Now, the Democrats

In politics, the bad side of illusions and pretty words is that they sooner or later clash with the hard realities: Then one must rebuild what had been constructed from the ground up.

Such has been the challenge of Barack Obama in the campaign that could carry him to a second presidential term in November … or expel him from the White House. Four years ago, the tone of a new era, the egalitarian ideas and the congenial manners of Obama made him the first black president of the United States. His fight now consists of convincing voters that the unfulfilled promises will be able to come true in a new mandate.

The key part of this task relies upon the Democratic convention, which occurs this week in North Carolina, a region shielded from Obamaism. With the picturesque Republican convention barely finished, their opponents’ turn now arrives.

The polls continue speaking of a virtual tie between Mitt Romney, the official conservative candidate, and the current president. Democratic advisers hope that when their party’s celebration closes on Sept. 6, the campaign will have received a new boost that will allow it to distance itself from its opponents up to the end.

The Republican convention blessed the pairing of a Mormon businessman and a right-wing Catholic (Paul Ryan), but it did not complete the explanation of who the contradictory Romney is or how he is going to correct his deficiencies in foreign policy. At one given moment, he sought a running mate well-versed in the world map, but his choice was a jurist versed in budgets.

On this point Obama has his first advantage over Romney. The president has lived in the world (his father was Kenyan, his stepfather is Indonesian, and he himself was born in Hawaii); he shows important dominion over international matters and the valuable experience that four years in the White House provides. He also enjoys majority support among blacks and Latinos, and benefits from the spiritual boost that the election of a descendant of slaves signified in a country that up until some years ago separated blacks and whites on buses and in restrooms.

The economic reality, however, is not favorable to him; the conservatives know and are exploiting this weakness, as seen at their convention. Although the GDP climbed from $46,915 to $48,247 per capita during Obama’s term, so did the national debt (from $10.56 trillion to $15.9 trillion), unemployment (from 7.2 to 8.3 percent) and the percentage of the population below the poverty line (from 13.2 to 15.1 percent). The economy grew an average of 2 percent, in spite of which there are 1.7 million more unemployed people.

His great project, universal public healthcare, is an object of criticism in sectors that want to see a smaller government, but the most underprivileged are grateful to him.

Immigration is another battleground. The Republican convention took a hard line on foreigners, among other reasons, because it considers that heating up nationalist sentiments can win more votes than lose them. Obama is aiming for a wide majority of immigrants to hand over their vote to he who has allowed the immigration rate to rise from 2.98 to 3.62 per thousand in the last four years.

Obama’s oratory capacity is an electoral weapon worthy of consideration; so is the charisma of first lady Michelle Obama. The convention in [North] Carolina will be a favorable setting for the final push of a Democratic campaign that will appeal more to emotions than to numbers.