Democrats Gather for National Convention

 CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — In U.S. politics, thousands of Democrats 1 are gathering 2 this week in the southern city of Charlotte, North Carolina for their party’s national convention. The convention opens Tuesday and will build to a climax 3 on Thursday, when President Barack Obama will formally accept his party's nomination 4 for a second term.

After a week of being bashed by the Republicans at their convention in Tampa, Florida, Democrats are hoping to rally around President Obama this week in Charlotte.
Republican presidential nominee 5 Mitt 6 Romney and his allies went after the president's economic record during their convention, and now it will be the Democrat's turn to defend his record and offer a vision for where Obama would like to take the country over the next four years.
David Plouffe is one of the president's top political advisers 7. He spoke 8 on ABC's This Week program. “So what we are going to lay out this week is we are going to explain to the American people and the middle class of this country how we are going to continue to recover. But do more than just continue to recover. To build an economy from the middle [class] out," he said.
At last week's Republican convention, nominee Mitt Romney said he would focus on creating jobs, cutting the budget deficit 9 and making the United States energy independent if he wins in November.
Analysts 11 say voters also will expect some specific plans from President Obama when he speaks on Thursday.
Mark Shields is a syndicated columnist 12 and a political analyst 10 for the NewsHour program on the Public Broadcasting System. "There isn't a specific sense where the president wants to go and how a second term under President Obama would be different from the first term and how it would be better for the country," he said. 
Historically, political conventions chose presidential candidates, but that is no longer the case. Now, the conventions merely ratify 13 the candidates after they win their party nominations 14 through a lengthy 15 series of caucus 16 and primary votes in the states that begin in early January.
Conventions do offer an opportunity for the candidates to make their case directly to the American people, says Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown.
“The next to last big opportunity to make an impression. So if you don't capitalize on it then you have essentially 17 given up an opportunity. After the conventions the only thing left are debates and they are very big, no doubt about it," he said. 
President Obama will give his nomination acceptance speech Thursday at an outdoor football stadium, much like he did four years ago when he accepted the 2008 Democratic nomination in Denver, Colorado.
Vice 18 President Joe Biden also will speak Thursday. Other prominent Democrats scheduled to speak include first lady Michelle Obama and former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.