“Back in June and July, I truly thought he was going to blow McCain out of the water and carry 30 or 40 states,” said Donald Fowler, a former national Democratic chairman who supported Hillary in the primary. “What has happened is that Republicans have really twisted his great charisma, this electric personality, to discredit his ability, his experience, his capacity, his judgment. I fear they are about to do to him what they did to Gore.”

Discussing the days ahead, Fowler continued: “Obama has got to do some things that will shore up his ability to lead — not just to charm, but to lead. They’ve got to give credibility to his understanding of foreign policy, his ability to deal with tough people and tough questions, and his ability to be more explicit and convincing on his health care policies and energy policies.”

Dennis McDonald, the Democratic chairman of Montana, a state that Obama is trying to win from Republicans, said this was a critical opening for Obama after a month in which polls suggested the race was tightening and events in Russia and Georgia put a new spotlight on foreign affairs, creating an opening that McCain seized.

“Normally I might say these conventions are not so important, but I don’t think that’s the case this year,” McDonald said. “There seems to be a sense of urgency. We have had a couple of weeks that were not so good.”

For the most part, this is a confident if slightly anxious party. And many Democrats were cheered by the choice of Joseph R Biden Jr of Delaware as Obama’s running mate, saying he had the potential to help address some of Obama’s political shortcomings.

... contd.