Presidential Election Update: July 27, 2016

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The unconventional conventions of both political parties were turned around Tuesday when the Democratic Party righted itself with a turn to a united approach, capped off in the evening by a heart-felt talk by former President Bill Clinton who weaved his and his wife’s courtship and resulting decades together in an attempt to recast her as an agent of change in a year when voters do not want the status quo.

Clinton portrayed his wife Hillary as a dynamic force for change and a longtime fighter for social justice as he made a case for her historic 2016 bid for the White House. Bill said Hillary was “a natural leader” with an in-built sense of responsibility. “Hillary is uniquely qualified to seize the opportunities and reduce the risks we face, and she is still the best darn change-maker I have ever known,” he said.

President Barack Obama delivers an address this evening and if history is any barometer, he should wow what will be a very friendly audience waiting to hear the victories Obama will cite during his nearly eight years in office, and how his party and Clinton differ so greatly from Trump’s views for the country.

As for the GOP, to say the Republican convention was different is an understatement. Former GOP presidential aspirant Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) showed he is already campaigning for the next presidential election during his talk in which he did not endorse the GOP candidate Donald Trump. Anyone who has followed Cruz since he got to Washington should not have been surprised. As for those comparing his presentation to that of former President Ronald Reagan during the GOP convention which nominated Gerald Ford, well, that is an errant analysis. Cruz is nowhere near Reagan when it comes to party unity and respect among his colleagues.

As for the Democratic Party, the first day chaotic events were caused by the inability of former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to initially see the impacts of the hacking of the DNC emails and what they exposed regarding the DNC’s favoring Clinton vs her challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders. While more emails are expected to surface, the Dems for now have gone on to other convention topics.

Despite the GOP’s bewildering convention, Trump got a poll bump, surprising some of the so-called experts who wondered if he would garner any gains. Once again some of the veterans were wrong in this election.

Hillary Clinton should also get a boost following this week’s convention. History shows that it is best to wait a few weeks after conventions are over to see what the polls show at that time in order to get the best reading on the presidential election race around 80 days prior to the election.

The issues discussed at both conventions were different, as was to be expected. But one topic was quite evident in both conventions: lack of support for President Obama’s push to get Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. No-TPP signs were evident on the floors of both conventions. But the issues during the GOP convention were far different than the usual topics discussed during Republican conventions, as Trump’s focus is clearly not the mainstream Republican issues.

Trump made clear he would not alter his views toward TPP should he win the presidency. In fact, he more than doubled-down by saying he could pull the U.S. out of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He previously said that NAFTA should be renegotiated. He previously and again last week signaled he would boost tariffs on U.S. companies that moved their operations to other countries.

House Ag Committee ranking member: TPP ‘dead in the water.’ House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) does not believe the TPP will come up for a vote in the lame-duck session of Congress, calling the agreement “dead in the water” and contending that opposition from both presidential candidates demands a renegotiation of the deal.

Would Clinton alter TPP views after Nov. 8? Some Democratic Party officials disagreed on the potential for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to eventually support TPP after Nov. 8 elections. Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, longtime friend to both Bill and Hillary Clinton, got crosswise with another powerful Clinton friend when he suggested that Clinton might revert to her previous support for the TPP once in office. But Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta on Twitter wrote, “Love Gov. McAuliffe, but he got this one flat wrong. Hillary opposes TPP BEFORE and AFTER the election. Period. Full stop.” At issue were McAuliffe’s comments in an interview on the sidelines of his speech to the Democratic convention Tuesday night. He had warm praise in that speech for Hillary Clinton as a friend “for more than half my life.”

Bottom line: The presidential election is going to be a dog race until Nov. 8. Both parties have deep divisions and the one that can best tap into a restive electorate will win.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.