Voters are trying to catch the last moments of summer freedom, some of us grooving on the sand between our toes as the kids try to put aside the fact that that's a school bell ringing in the distance. Joe Sixpack on the surfboard doesn't see himself as a generic voter (or a generic anything), and a mom keeping track of her brood on the beach, having to deal with the tragedy of a collapsed sand castle, has little time to consider the collapse of Hillary Clinton's presidential ambition. The little boy who drops the scoop of chocolate ice cream and sees it draining away on the hot sidewalk focuses his mom's mind on a tragedy of a more immediate kind.
Politics is the intruder here, as it is for so many Americans focused on the details of trying to live good and satisfying lives. Only television brings the political reality home. Now we know Michelle Obama doesn't wear a burqa. She's a mother with two adorable daughters, the poster children for "family values," the shorthand issue the Democrats are determined to steal from the Republicans. Chelsea Clinton, introducing her mom, reminds us that the hard-edged woman who lost her bid, barely, for the nomination succeeded in her most important mission of all, raising a bright and successful daughter.
A torrent of words, bluster and promises of pie in the sky will fall between Denver and Minneapolis and beyond. That's where the politicians live, and come September and October, what Barack Obama means by "change," what John McCain means by "experience," will crystallize on the stump and in the debates.
Will the poisonous residue of hate preached by Obama's erstwhile pastor and his inexplicable association with violent and unrepentant '60s radicals continue to cast doubt over his judgment and his readiness to lead all the people, all the time? Will McCain put aside nagging concerns about his age with his choice of running mate? Will his support of the surge in Iraq, now recognized as a qualified success, sustain his own surge of voter support? But late summer for us is springtime for the nominees. The real campaign is about to begin.