Bill Clinton's Speech and Clint Eastwood's Chair: Ohioans React After Party Conventions

Northeast Ohio Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much, but they do have similar reactions to the recently concluded Republican and Democratic national conventions.

Bill Clinton's speech: Good.

Clint Eastwood and the chair: Bad.

GOP and Democratic insiders surveyed by Patch had generally favorable things to say about their candidates and the success of their own conventions. Patch received survey answers from 24 Democrats and 29 Republicans.

A majority of Republicans surveyed became more confident of Republican Nominee Mitt Romney's chances of winning Ohio in November and believed he made a strong case of becoming president at the GOP convention in Tampa.

"The story of the candidate and his family's personal background was effective," said Dale Petty, a Republican from Cuyahoga Falls. "I thought the conclusion of the acceptance speech was powerful - 'I want to help your family'."

Democrats were equally enthused after the Democrats convened in Charlotte. Those surveyed believed the party did a good job of giving President Barack Obama momentum to excite the base -- even if he was overshadowed by former President Bill Clinton.

"The speech by Bill Clinton really ignited the base and even got the Republicans to wish for the 'good ole days' of the Clinton Administration," said Democrat David Licate of Stow. He added later: "Mr. Clinton effectively framed the case for President Obama's re-election and skillfully attacked the Republican candidates."

Democrats and Republicans even found some positive words to say about each other's big shows.

Some Democrats thought that Ann Romney's speech was a positive message that did a solid job of humanizing the Republican nominee. Meanwhile, Republicans thought Clinton gave a good speech.

Of course, they found plenty to criticize about the other party's conventions too. Republicans criticized the Democratic blunder to leave God out of the party platform. Democrats slammed the GOP for Clint Eastwood's speech.

Overall, members of both parties felt that their conventions as a whole were successful. But Republicans believed that the convention would not have much effect on the outcome of the election. Democrats were more enthusiastic that their convention would help the president's election chances.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Patch will be conducting Red Northeast Ohio and Blue Northeast Ohio surveys throughout the election eason in hopes of determining the true sentiment of Republicans and Democrats on the ground in Ohio.

Our surveys are not a scientific random sample of any larger population but rather an effort to listen to a swath of influential local Republicans and Democrats. All of these individuals have agreed to participate in the surveys, although not all responded to this week's questions.
 
If you are an activist, party leader or elected official and would like to take part in a weekly surveys that lasts just a few minutes, please email Senior Regional Editor Jean Dubail at jean.dubail@patch.com