Picking a convention site is never an easy task, whether it's the Democratic Party or GOP or Netroots Nation. A lot of planning and presentations go into such decisions, and of course, there are no lack of incentives offered by cities that are vying to land big conventions.
The choice of Charlotte, NC for the 2012 Democratic Party National Convention was questionable from the start. North Carolina is a particularly hostile environment for unions, and indeed, many unions will be staying away from the DNC convention this year. It isn't the union issue that has me scratching my head today, though.
It's the choice of venue for President Obama's nomination acceptance speech.
Bank of America Stadium.
President Barack Obama plans to accept the Democratic presidential nomination in the open air of Bank of America Stadium on the final day of his party's convention next summer in Charlotte, N.C.
Democrats also announced plans to shorten the convention from the traditional four days to three to make room for a day to celebrate the Carolinas, Virginia and the South. The convention opens on Labor Day at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
I don't know. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive about this decision, but it seems incredibly tone deaf to me. The optics alone just don't seem proper. I understand the desire to have a football stadium full of Obama supporters sitting in the seats. And the ability for corporate organizers to entertain in the super boxes of the stadium before, during, and after the speech.
But BofA Stadium? Really?
Surely, there's a more appropriate location - Clemson University Memorial Stadium, perhaps? Seats 95,000, which is about 20,000 more than BofA Stadium. (Update: Adam B. points out in the comments that Clemson is 2/12 hours away from Charlotte...)
This is not a year for the Democratic Party to be tone deaf to choices such as this one.