The announcement this week that the Democratic National Convention of 2012 will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, may have surprised some observers, including this blogger, who really thought that St. Louis, Missouri would be chosen from among others including Columbus, Ohio, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After having been correct on the choice of Tampa, Florida by the Republican Party for its 2012 convention, the author was somewhat disappointed that his prediction failed to come to fruition!
It is clear that President Barack Obama made the final choice, and it shows that he intends to make a fight to keep the Southern states that he won in 2008–North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, none of which will be easy to accomplish.
In the mind of the author, keeping the Midwest–Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota–will be more urgent, as the “heartland” of the nation seems the even more significant battleground!
While Obama did not win Missouri in 2008, John McCain only won by a few thousand votes, and that was only the second time since 1900 (the other time being 1956) that the loser of Missouri won the White House. So it is crucial that Missouri be won by Obama if he is to win a second term, the reasoning that made the author think he would choose St. Louis.
However, Charlotte is part of the emerging modern South, and North Carolina, along with Virginia and Florida, will also be crucial in the 2012 election campaign.
Hopefully, the President’s decision to choose the South over the Midwest for the national convention will play out in a resulting win for him in 2012!