Fair Proxy Web

Commentary: Why party conventions still exist

Bill Schneider’s experience covering conventions goes back to 1976 and with CNN since 1992.

(CNN) — Conventions are relics. They don’t decide the nominees anymore — that’s been turned over to primary voters. No one pays much attention to party platforms except a few ideological activists.

So why do we still have them? Two reasons: money and publicity.

Parties can raise big money at conventions. Major contributors are treated to endless receptions and special events.

The actual convention business — nominations, acceptance speeches, platforms — could easily be completed in a weekend. But the process is stretched out over four days to provide plenty of time for fundraising.

The convention has evolved into a four-day infomercial,” a slick production aimed at promoting the candidate and giving the ticket a bounce in the polls.

In 1972, it was sensational news when the press discovered a detailed, minute-by-minute script for the Republican convention. The Democrats had no such script. The 1972 Democratic convention was far more democratic — and chaotic. The nominee ended up giving his acceptance speech in the middle of the night, with disastrous results.

Now both parties try to control every minute of the convention as if it were a television show — because it is a television show. Delegates are props. They cheer and applaud and provide color (funny hats).

The last thing convention organizers want is actual news made. But somehow news usually manages to break out.

Think of it this way: At the Democratic convention in Denver, a little over 2,000 Sen. Barack Obama delegates and a little under 2,000 Sen. Hillary Clinton delegates will be meeting in one big room. Watch behind the scenes action at the Democratic convention

Singing Kum Ba Ya”? Not likely. They’ll find plenty of things to squabble over. Obama plans to deliver his acceptance speech in a stadium with 76,000 seats instead of the conventional hall. Here’s one reason: an audience of 74,000 Obama fans will swamp 2,000 Clinton delegates.

Republicans have two big worries for their convention. One is what to do with President Bush and Vice President Cheney — two of the most unpopular figures in American politics. Bush and Cheney have to be given time to say farewell to their party.

When they do, Sen. John McCain wants to be far away. Otherwise, he would be expected to raise arms with Bush and Cheney — and provide a photo that would live forever in Democratic campaign propaganda.

Conservative activists are determined to write a party platform that limits McCain’s influence — meaning, no federally funded stem cell research; no global warming initiatives; no campaign finance reform; no comprehensive immigration reform.

Convention organizers want to make sure the platform process, like the Bush and Cheney speeches, gets as little notice as possible.

Nevertheless, if you look beyond the hoopla and the bombast at the conventions, a real story will be going on. It is about the remaking of the Democratic and Republican parties.

The Democratic Party has been the Clinton party for sixteen years. Now the Obama campaign wants to remake it into the Obama party.

The process started just after Obama claimed the nomination. He moved major party operations from Washington to Chicago, where his campaign is headquartered. He ordered the party to stop accepting contributions from groups that lobby the federal government.

In the United States, political parties are diverse coalitions united by one thing: the desire to get the party’s candidates elected. Coalitions are held together by calculation and strategy. The Clintons were extremely good at calculation and strategy.

Remember triangulation”? And they were winners –until this year.

This year, Hillary Clinton was defeated by something the Clintons didn’t see coming — a political movement.

A movement is held together by more than calculation and strategy. A movement is based on belief and belonging. People support a campaign, but they belong to a movement.

Movements can be difficult to elect. They alienate non-believers” who don’t feel they belong.”

The Democratic convention will be the first formal meeting of the national Obama movement. We’ll be watching to see how the Obama campaign tries to reshape the party’s image and message — and whether the Clinton delegates put up resistance.

Precisely the opposite will be happening at the Republican convention. The Republican Party was captured by the conservative movement when Ronald Reagan won the nomination in 1980. The conservative movement nominated George W. Bush and rejected McCain in 2000.

Now the McCain campaign wants to remake it from a Bush party to a McCain party. That means limiting the influence of movement conservatives who have controlled the party for nearly 30 years.

found here.

America still a dream for F1

LONDON, England (CNN) — For Formula One, the United States remains the toughest nut to crack.

In the same way the absence of a race in Africa is an anomaly, F1’s inability to bed down in the land of the motorcar is a black mark against its claims to be a true world championship.

But it’s not for the want of trying — and, with a huge car-buying market waiting to be tapped into, with good reason.

The American dream has seldom been realized in F1 since the first U.S. Grand Prix in 1959.

And despite finding seemingly the perfect partner in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the U.S. GP was dropped from the 2008 calendar, with F1’s promoter Bernie Ecclestone declaring his preference to go east rather than west.

The relationship between F1 and the U.S. has not always been so frosty.

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the world championship from 1950 to 1960 and the U.S. is the only country to have hosted three grands prix in a single season (1982).

Races at venues across the U.S. came and went, sometimes owing to safety concerns, in the case of Watkins Glen, sometimes owing to finance, in the case of Long Beach.

Events at Las Vegas, Dallas and Detroit failed to capture the imagination and legend has it that the last race at Phoenix in 1991 was out-attended by a local ostrich festival held on the same day.

When the race was resurrected in 2000 at Indianapolis, a crowd of more than 200,000 turned up. But the farcical 2005 race landed a potentially fatal blow when only six cars took the start after the Michelin runners withdrew over tire safety concerns.

Nonetheless, it survived for another two years before Indianapolis owner Tony George, scrabbling round for a title sponsor for the race, baulked at Ecclestone’s reputed $20m asking price to stage the 2008 event.

Discussions will continue, but it must be on terms reasonable to all groups, speedway spokesman Ron Green said after the race was omitted from the 2009 F1 calendar.

While wrangling over venues has been a feature of F1 in the U.S., so too has the inability of the U.S. to influence F1.

In Phil Hill and the Italy-born Mario Andretti, the U.S. has had two F1 world champions, but they are very much the exceptions. Scott Speed was the most recent failure.

The handful of U.S. teams who entered, primarily in the 1970s, all came up well short; the last to try in the mid-80s, Team Haas, folded after 19 races owing to a lack of sponsorship cash.

To the tune of around $158m a year, Ford entered F1 under their Jaguar brand in 2000. But after 85 mediocre races, the cost of failure proved to be too great for the Michigan marque and they sold out to Red Bull in 2004.

found here.

Deal would have U.S. troops out of Iraq by late 2011

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have reached agreement on a proposal calling for a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by 2012, the head Iraqi negotiator said Friday.

The deal still must be approved by both sides, said Mohammed al-Haj Hamoud, deputy foreign minister and head of the Iraqi negotiating team.

Hamoud said Thursday’s meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was helpful in reaching the tentative agreement.

Hamoud said the proposal also says the last date for the presence of U.S. troops in cities and towns will be June 30, 2009.

There are clear caveats, however.

If the Iraqi government sees the necessity of keeping the American forces in cities and towns or in Iraq past December 31, 2011, it would ask that the Americans stay. A joint Iraqi-U.S. committee would help define the duration and number of forces that would be needed and regularly assess the security situation on the ground.

Regarding the issue of troop immunity from Iraqi law and American authority over military operations, American authorities would have jurisdiction over their troops. But Americans could fall under Iraqi authority for any major crimes committed against civilians.

found here.

Lloyd goal gives U.S. women football gold

BEIJING, China (AP) — They came to the Beijing Olympics as a team trying to find its way, still adjusting to a new coach and each other, still smarting from a loss that brought humiliation on and off the field.

They dropped their first game, hardly an auspicious start for a country that had lost only one other in three Olympics. But bit by bit, game by game, they came together, figuring out what it would take to win.

On Thursday night, the U.S. women’s soccer team stood as one, Olympic gold medals around their necks, champions once again.

Vindicated? I feel great, I feel amazing. I just won a gold medal, said goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose banishment at last year’s World Cup symbolizes the struggles these Americans have had and without whom they wouldn’t have won this game.

Solo made save after save to keep the United States in the game, and Carli Lloyd scored in the sixth minute of extra time to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Brazil and the gold medal for a third time in four Olympics.

It was the first victory in a major tournament for new coach Pia Sundhage, who took over less than nine months ago.

It was hard, and this win wasn’t just down to my goal, Lloyd said. It was only achievable with the team we have and that we played for each other.

United now, the Americans were ripped apart at last year’s World Cup, also in China.

Though Solo had allowed only two goals in four World Cup starts and had a shutout streak of nearly 300 minutes going, then-coach Greg Ryan decided to sit her for the semifinal against Brazil and play veteran Briana Scurry. The move was a disaster, and the United States — a favorite to win the tournament — was humbled 4-0, its worst loss ever at a World Cup.

Solo lashed out at Ryan, and was banished. A month later, Ryan was fired.

I went through hell. A lot of people did, Solo said. But I feel stronger in the end. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m glad I went though it. I learned a lot about myself.

And she has a gold medal as the result.

After the game ended, Solo sprinted back out onto the field, a gaudy imitation gold medal around her neck, a phone to her ear and a bright smile on her face. She closed her eyes when the national anthem began playing, and bounced proudly and gripped her medal when the team posed for pictures afterward.

A few fans in the crowd chanted, We want Hope! We want Hope!

I asked two questions: Do you want to win? Yes. Do you need goalkeepers to win? Yes, Sundhage said. We had to move on, and this day you could see that we did it.

Emotion poured from the Americans at the final whistle. They charged to the middle of the field, screaming in celebration. A few grabbed American flags and sprinted to the U.S. fans in the stands. Mostly though, they beamed, those long months of tension and uncertainty suddenly far away.

This is such a reward for nine months of hard, hard work and soul-searching after the World Cup, Kate Markgraf said.

For the Brazilians, it was yet another bitter disappointment, the third consecutive time they’ve been the runner-up at a top event. They outplayed the Americans in the 2004 final, too, and lost in extra time. They also fell to Germany in the World Cup final last year.

As jubilant as the Americans were, the Brazilians were just as despondent. Goalkeeper Barbara lay on her back when the game ended, sobbing, while Cristiane sat on the ground crying.

I have no idea why we can’t win a final, said Marta, who sobbed when she got her silver medal, her lip quivering. It’s something I’m gonna keep asking myself for a long time. You keep asking what you did wrong.

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year has nothing to regret. Her speed and control mesmerized the American defenders, and her cat-like quickness allowed her to get to balls no other player would have come close to. She was credited with six shots on goal, but she seemed to be in Solo’s personal space more often than a pickpocket.

I’m more mad than sad, Marta said. Again we had a chance to win the gold and again we let it slip away. It’s hard to say why that keeps happening to us.

Though the Americans arrived in Beijing as the world’s top team, they were far from favorites for gold. They lost top defender Cat Whitehill in June, when she tore up her left knee. In the final tuneup before Beijing, leading scorer Abby Wambach broke her leg. Then they lost their opener, giving up two goals in the first few minutes to Norway.

This was not, it was clear, a team like the United States had grown accustomed to in the days of Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, who played together so long, they knew each other’s every move.

But Sundhage’s calming presence bolstered the Americans. Their offense wasn’t always a thing of beauty, but they found ways to win games.

We are not looking at the results, but on how we play, Sundhage said. Soccer is not a matter of 1-0 or 2-0, it’s the way to find out the rhythm. The match against Norway is our key point in the tournament. … We found out our weak points and improved it. That’s why we stand here with the gold medal.

The Americans were outclassed for much of the game by Brazil’s dazzling speed and control, but Solo kept them in the game, making at least a half-dozen big saves. In the 31st minute, Lloyd lost a ball to Formiga, who passed to Cristiane. Cristiane was the tournament’s leading scorer, and she ran full-speed looking for another. But Solo came off her line and dove at Cristiane’s feet to collect the ball, upending the Brazilian in the process.

Even more impressive was Solo’s save in the 72nd minute, when Marta lost the ball behind Heather Mitts and Markgraf and then picked it back up for a close-range shot that looked certain to be in. But Solo leaned out, threw up her right arm and sent the ball flying out of harm’s way.

I think I was leaning to my left waiting to dive to the left because the whole goal was open, Solo said. And she ended up going right, and I luckily kept some of my weight on the right.

Said Marta: I don’t understand why the ball wouldn’t go in. In so many games before we were able to score easily, but today it wasn’t the case.

The rest of the Americans picked up the slack in the last five minutes of regulation, nearly scoring three times — twice in the 86th minute alone.

Then, in extra time, Amy Rodriguez held off two Brazilians and put the ball up for Lloyd who gave it a light touch with her right foot and then left-footed it from a yard outside the area. Barbara dived, but the ball scooted past her and settled in the far bottom corner of the net.

I just knew that I had to keep it low, strike it hard and it went in, Lloyd said.

Marta did everything she could to draw the Brazilians even. In the 102nd minute, she was tackled by Mitts and then, after getting the ball back, was blocked first by Markgraf and then by Christie Rampone. In the second extra period, she tried to bend in a corner a few minutes later only to watch Solo punch it free. Renata Costa collected the rebound, but her shot banged into the side of the net, drawing groans from the star-studded crowd of 51,612 — Kobe Bryant, Pele, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge were all in the house — that clearly favored Brazil.

Shortly after, Marta looped in a free kick, but none of her teammates went for it, and the ball bounced over the scrum and wide of the far post.

We felt like we were getting better each minute, captain Christie Rampone said. We said, ‘Don’t worry about making mistakes, just go out there and play with confidence and be brave.’ You could feel it every minute of that second half and in overtime. We felt strong.

With just seconds left, Cristiane’s header went wide.

found here.

Lloyd goal gives U.S. women football gold

BEIJING, China (AP) — They came to the Beijing Olympics as a team trying to find its way, still adjusting to a new coach and each other, still smarting from a loss that brought humiliation on and off the field.

They dropped their first game, hardly an auspicious start for a country that had lost only one other in three Olympics. But bit by bit, game by game, they came together, figuring out what it would take to win.

On Thursday night, the U.S. women’s soccer team stood as one, Olympic gold medals around their necks, champions once again.

Vindicated? I feel great, I feel amazing. I just won a gold medal, said goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose banishment at last year’s World Cup symbolizes the struggles these Americans have had and without whom they wouldn’t have won this game.

Solo made save after save to keep the United States in the game, and Carli Lloyd scored in the sixth minute of extra time to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Brazil and the gold medal for a third time in four Olympics.

It was the first victory in a major tournament for new coach Pia Sundhage, who took over less than nine months ago.

It was hard, and this win wasn’t just down to my goal, Lloyd said. It was only achievable with the team we have and that we played for each other.

United now, the Americans were ripped apart at last year’s World Cup, also in China.

Though Solo had allowed only two goals in four World Cup starts and had a shutout streak of nearly 300 minutes going, then-coach Greg Ryan decided to sit her for the semifinal against Brazil and play veteran Briana Scurry. The move was a disaster, and the United States — a favorite to win the tournament — was humbled 4-0, its worst loss ever at a World Cup.

Solo lashed out at Ryan, and was banished. A month later, Ryan was fired.

I went through hell. A lot of people did, Solo said. But I feel stronger in the end. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m glad I went though it. I learned a lot about myself.

And she has a gold medal as the result.

After the game ended, Solo sprinted back out onto the field, a gaudy imitation gold medal around her neck, a phone to her ear and a bright smile on her face. She closed her eyes when the national anthem began playing, and bounced proudly and gripped her medal when the team posed for pictures afterward.

A few fans in the crowd chanted, We want Hope! We want Hope!

I asked two questions: Do you want to win? Yes. Do you need goalkeepers to win? Yes, Sundhage said. We had to move on, and this day you could see that we did it.

Emotion poured from the Americans at the final whistle. They charged to the middle of the field, screaming in celebration. A few grabbed American flags and sprinted to the U.S. fans in the stands. Mostly though, they beamed, those long months of tension and uncertainty suddenly far away.

This is such a reward for nine months of hard, hard work and soul-searching after the World Cup, Kate Markgraf said.

For the Brazilians, it was yet another bitter disappointment, the third consecutive time they’ve been the runner-up at a top event. They outplayed the Americans in the 2004 final, too, and lost in extra time. They also fell to Germany in the World Cup final last year.

As jubilant as the Americans were, the Brazilians were just as despondent. Goalkeeper Barbara lay on her back when the game ended, sobbing, while Cristiane sat on the ground crying.

I have no idea why we can’t win a final, said Marta, who sobbed when she got her silver medal, her lip quivering. It’s something I’m gonna keep asking myself for a long time. You keep asking what you did wrong.

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year has nothing to regret. Her speed and control mesmerized the American defenders, and her cat-like quickness allowed her to get to balls no other player would have come close to. She was credited with six shots on goal, but she seemed to be in Solo’s personal space more often than a pickpocket.

I’m more mad than sad, Marta said. Again we had a chance to win the gold and again we let it slip away. It’s hard to say why that keeps happening to us.

Though the Americans arrived in Beijing as the world’s top team, they were far from favorites for gold. They lost top defender Cat Whitehill in June, when she tore up her left knee. In the final tuneup before Beijing, leading scorer Abby Wambach broke her leg. Then they lost their opener, giving up two goals in the first few minutes to Norway.

This was not, it was clear, a team like the United States had grown accustomed to in the days of Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, who played together so long, they knew each other’s every move.

But Sundhage’s calming presence bolstered the Americans. Their offense wasn’t always a thing of beauty, but they found ways to win games.

We are not looking at the results, but on how we play, Sundhage said. Soccer is not a matter of 1-0 or 2-0, it’s the way to find out the rhythm. The match against Norway is our key point in the tournament. … We found out our weak points and improved it. That’s why we stand here with the gold medal.

The Americans were outclassed for much of the game by Brazil’s dazzling speed and control, but Solo kept them in the game, making at least a half-dozen big saves. In the 31st minute, Lloyd lost a ball to Formiga, who passed to Cristiane. Cristiane was the tournament’s leading scorer, and she ran full-speed looking for another. But Solo came off her line and dove at Cristiane’s feet to collect the ball, upending the Brazilian in the process.

Even more impressive was Solo’s save in the 72nd minute, when Marta lost the ball behind Heather Mitts and Markgraf and then picked it back up for a close-range shot that looked certain to be in. But Solo leaned out, threw up her right arm and sent the ball flying out of harm’s way.

I think I was leaning to my left waiting to dive to the left because the whole goal was open, Solo said. And she ended up going right, and I luckily kept some of my weight on the right.

Said Marta: I don’t understand why the ball wouldn’t go in. In so many games before we were able to score easily, but today it wasn’t the case.

The rest of the Americans picked up the slack in the last five minutes of regulation, nearly scoring three times — twice in the 86th minute alone.

Then, in extra time, Amy Rodriguez held off two Brazilians and put the ball up for Lloyd who gave it a light touch with her right foot and then left-footed it from a yard outside the area. Barbara dived, but the ball scooted past her and settled in the far bottom corner of the net.

I just knew that I had to keep it low, strike it hard and it went in, Lloyd said.

Marta did everything she could to draw the Brazilians even. In the 102nd minute, she was tackled by Mitts and then, after getting the ball back, was blocked first by Markgraf and then by Christie Rampone. In the second extra period, she tried to bend in a corner a few minutes later only to watch Solo punch it free. Renata Costa collected the rebound, but her shot banged into the side of the net, drawing groans from the star-studded crowd of 51,612 — Kobe Bryant, Pele, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge were all in the house — that clearly favored Brazil.

Shortly after, Marta looped in a free kick, but none of her teammates went for it, and the ball bounced over the scrum and wide of the far post.

We felt like we were getting better each minute, captain Christie Rampone said. We said, ‘Don’t worry about making mistakes, just go out there and play with confidence and be brave.’ You could feel it every minute of that second half and in overtime. We felt strong.

With just seconds left, Cristiane’s header went wide.

found here.