By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: September 4, 2012
CHARLOTTE, N.C. â€" Democrats gathered here on Tuesday to begin a brisk three-day convention intended to draw sharp programmatic differences with the Republican Party and walk a line between promoting President Obama’s first-term accomplishments while recognizing the continuing economic despair that has marked the last four years.
The convention, which is to be gaveled to order at 5 p.m., will feature a speech by Michelle Obama, in what Mr. Obama’s aides said would be the beginning of an attempt to prompt voters to re-examine the president’s record, particularly his health care law and his work on the economy.
In contrast with the other speakers on Tuesday night â€" and most of the speakers this week â€" Ms. Obama in her remarks will not offer criticisms of Mr. Romney, instead offering what aides described as an account of her husband’s motivations in pushing through the health care bill and the auto industry bailout. Other speakers, however, will focus on what has emerged as one of the convention’s top goals: drawing sharp contrasts with Mr. Romney.
“We want to crystallize the choice between two very different visions of the economy,†said Stephanie Cutter, Mr. Obama’s deputy campaign manager.
Before the gavel was banged, the roads and sidewalks of this medium-size Southern city were choked with traffic as delegates, guests, journalists and various hangers-on sought to find their way to the site. Mr. Obama does not arrive here until Wednesday, but security appeared tighter than it was in Tampa, Fla., where Republicans gathered last week. Democrats awoke â€" many after a long night of festivities â€" to find that downtown Charlotte (known as Uptown) had completed its transformation into a maze of high-wire fences and security barriers. There were clusters of police officers on every corner, with squads of them patrolling the streets and sidewalks on bicycle.
As Democrats prepared to convene, Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, kept out of sight on an estate in Vermont, where he was engaged in debate preparation. By contrast, Mr. Obama campaigned during parts of the Republican convention last week. Mr. Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, campaigned Tuesday in Ohio and Iowa.
Mr. Obama made what will be his final campaign event before the convention in Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday, signaling just how critical that state is to his re-election hopes.
Democrats were also preparing to adopt the party platform, including a plank endorsing same-sex marriage â€" a first for either party.
Beside Mrs. Obama, the choice of speakers chosen for the convention’s first night signaled some of the organizers’ demographic priorities. The keynote address â€" the same speech that vaulted a young Senator Obama from Illinois to national fame in 2004 â€" will be delivered by Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio who is Latino, a crucial target for the Obama campaign.
Other speakers include Lilly Ledbetter, who has become a symbol in the women’s pay equity movement; Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs in the Iraq war and is running for Congress in Illinois; and Nancy Keenan, an abortion rights leader.
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