One Down, One to Go.

These are my post-convention thoughts for the week.

A four day long pat-on-the-back should not warrant the kind of media attention these conventions get.

Michelle Obama acquitted herself quite well on opening night. Not only did she not do any harm, she may have repaired some of the damage she may have caused earlier in the campaign with voters who either didn’t understand or didn’t want to understand what she was saying.

Hillary Clinton “womanned-up” Tuesday night and gave the speech she needed to give. It was a little less enthusiastic than many would have preferred, but I understand why she did what she did. She couldn’t get up in front of a packed arena (a significant percentage of which were fervent supporters of her primary campaign) and with any credibility, give a glowing twenty-minute speech extolling the virtues of the man she had run a fierce against for the past 18-months. Her speech needed to be about her. It needed to be about what she and her supporters had accomplished. But more importantly, it needed to be about why her supporters had supported her. Since the day Senator Clinton suspended her campaign the media narrative has been that her supporters are so upset with her loss that they may not be able to put it behind them and cast their votes for Senator Obama. But whether out of loyalty to the party or political self-preservation, Clinton made it clear that anyone who believed in her because of what she stood for could not in good conscience consider casting a vote for John McCain or even refuse to vote in November. And as a result of her efforts, the hysteria over what the die-hards would do began to die out by the time the much debated roll-call vote came around Wednesday afternoon.

I’ve said a lot of not-so-nice things about former President Clinton during this campaign. And I still stand by many of those things. But on Wednesday night, Bill Clinton manned-up in what must have been an awfully difficult situation, and gave Barack Obama exactly what he needed - an unambiguous assertive endorsement of his presidential candidacy. Kudos to Bill.

I like Joe Biden. I still think he’s a bit of a loose cannon and I’m a little nervous he’ll say something he’ll regret during the next eight weeks, but I think he’s a solid addition to the ticket.

On the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, Barack Obama stood up in front of 80,000 people at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado and delivered an historic acceptance speech. Less so for what he said than for the fact that he said it at all. The speech itself was good. Not the best he’s ever delivered, but very good. He did what the media and some voters have been demanding he do since his arrival on the political scene - he defined, in no uncertain terms, his vision of change. From this point on, anyone who says they are undecided about voting for or against Obama because they don’t know what he stands for is not only lazy, but also a bold-faced liar. In addition to defining himself, Obama drew bright-line distinctions between his policies and those of his opponent, while still finding some room to point out potential areas of compromise between the two sides. As usual, he rose to the occasion, looking very presidential in the process.

However, not every Democrat was impressed with the speech. Some of the comments heard in the post speech analysis were that Obama’s attacks on McCain were too sharp, that he didn’t spend enough time discussing broader themes, that the speech was long on policy and short on “feel-good.” These, of course, were many of the same people who have spent the last 18-months complaining that Obama hasn’t been specific enough, or pointed enough in his criticism of McCain. But the criticism that tweaked me the most came from several prominent members of the African-American community who accused him of ignoring African-American issues in his speech. I’m not entirely sure which issues they were referring to, but I’m willing to bet that whatever they are, they are not exclusive to the Black community. Education, health care, energy and equal pay are relevant to everyone, regardless of their color or creed, and the sooner the Democratic Party figures that out, the less divided they’ll be.

Barack Obama has done a phenomenal job of walking a very fine line under incredibly difficult circumstances and unrealistic expectations. In order to be elected president of these United States of America, Obama must be the consummate “everyman.” In fact, he must be better than that. He cannot show any weakness, he cannot show any uncertainty, he cannot show any of the normal human emotions and/or reactions any other candidate in his position would have. The fastest way for him to torpedo his candidacy is for him to come across as the “angry black man.” Everything he does, every speech he gives, every political point he makes, every response to an attack must be filtered through that prism. Older white America is petrified of people of color showing any kind of human emotion that isn’t a laugh or a smile or a reassuring handshake. If he were to respond to the inane attacks on his character with the slightest inkling of righteous indignation, voters would dismiss him as yet another disturbing angry black activist unworthy of a first look - let alone a second. As the first mixed-race man ever to be this close to the presidency, Barack Obama has to be the equivalent of Sidney Poitier’s Dr. Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. He took an enormous gamble last Thursday night in criticizing McCain as sharply as he did. The consequences of that risk remain to be seen.

These are my non-political thoughts for the week.

Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson returned home this past week to cheering crowds, packed arenas and marriage proposals. Seriously people, she’s 16-years-old. Perverts.

The Large Hardron Collider (or LHC as it is affectionally known in scientific circles) was partially powered up for its test run, passing with flying colors. The world’s largest particle accelerator based primarily in Switzerland is set to come online later this month, after which time critics believe it will set about its task of creating miniature black holes with which to destroy the earth. Hope you’ve got your starship ready.

Mattel, owner of the Barbie doll franchise, was awarded $100 million in winning its lawsuit against the makers of Bratz dolls. I always knew Barbie was a gold digger.

And finally, the NFL has decided to reinstate now Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones following a year-long suspension for multiple arrests. The Pacman claims he is reformed, even going so far as to request the sports media no longer refer to him as Pacman. So far this season Mr. Jones has been true to his word. But with role-models like Terrell Owens and Jessica Simpson to guide him along the way, one can’t help but wonder how long it might be before we find him in a Dallas strip club “makin’ it rain.”