So, Tell Me about the Democrats' Convention

"I have seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are – no, it reveals who you are," Michelle Obama said in her prime-time speech. "So in the end, for Barack, these issues aren’t political – they’re personal. Because Barack knows what it means when a family struggles ... Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it."
And the first lady brought the crowd to their feet in closing: "I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all our sons and daughters ... then we must work like never before, and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward…my husband, our president, President Barack Obama."

...On the first night of prime time coverage, with a precious opportunity to engage the small proportion of American voters who haven’t made up their minds about the election, the Democratic Party chose as its public face a Latino and an African-American.

That might not seem like an ideal way to win over the white working- and middle-class. But that’s where the message of the two speeches came in. The clear, unmistakable argument of each was that these groups, and the members of their party, believe in the work ethic every bit as much as the Republicans do—and that, unlike the Republicans, they understand hard work alone isn’t a guarantor of success.

Julian Castro honed in on this theme about halfway into his speech:

"Mitt Romney, quite simply, doesn’t get it. A few months ago he visited a university in Ohio and gave the students a little entrepreneurial advice. “Start a business,” he said. But how? “Borrow money if you have to from your parents,” he told them. Gee, why didn’t I think of that?"

It was the most pointed passage of the speech and, I thought, the most devastating. And while you expect that from a keynote speaker, Michelle Obama made essentially the same argument:

"And he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity…you do not slam it shut behind you…you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed."

The First Lady didn’t mention Romney or Ryan by name—not there and not anywhere else in the speech. But the reference to their agenda, and to the Republican Party’s, was clear. (Michelle even defended the Affordable Care Act, in no uncertain terms.) And so was the broader message. We want to make sure you have the same opportunities we did. They don’t.

Did it work? Will it make a difference? As usual, I have no idea. But the stark political message seemed entirely appropriate, given the stark contrast between the two parties and the high stakes of the election.

The speeches thus far have been better, certainly more truthful

Not even close

even the GOP spokesman said they weren't going to let fact-checkers guide them.

What do you think that means?

Joe(facts....still such stubborn things)Nation