When PR turns the inevitable into a surprise

Barack Obama’s talented communicators built convention drama around three themes—and millions of people tuned in

Call it evolution, or perhaps a sign of the times, but these days behind every successful man or woman (or child) is at least one talented communicator.

Barack Obama has at least four. His inner circle of communicators includes PR pro-in-chief David Axelrod, campaign manager David Plouffe, communications director Robert Gibbs and (26-year-old) speechwriter Jon Favreau. They played an immense role during last week’s Democratic National Convention.

Political conventions, no longer the raucous events of decades past, require drama. Without it, the millions of viewers at home are liable to cast it aside as nothing more than a partisan infomercial. If party loyalists are the only ones that watch, well, then, “preaching to the choir” comes to mind.