(Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
It felt like old times earlier today when I spent close to an hour stalking former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis while he participated in a Google meet-up here at the Republican National Convention.
Aside from a friendly hello, Davis wasn’t talking and his handlers were fiercely protective of both the new Republican and the speech he would deliver later.
The waiting is over and there’s no turning back for Davis.
I knew that his speech would target Democrats and independents, who like him, are disappointed in President Obama’s record. What I didn’t expect, however, were the snarky references to what he described as Obama’s celebrity.
“What a difference four years makes,” Davis said. “The Democrats’ ads convince me that Gov. Romney can’t sing, but his record convinces me he knows how to lead, and I think you know which skill we need more.”
Citing the 2008 Democratic National Convention, he said that some people may have mistaken the glare of the lights as Obama spoke for a halo.
Seriously?
I have no problem with Davis’ switch in party affiliation. In fact, it spices things up a bit and lends not just another African-American voice on that ideological side of the aisle but also a smart one. But weren’t he and Obama kind of friends or at least friendly? If some people, including Davis, it seems, mistook the man for a messiah back then, shame on them.
And shame on Davis for repeating his new party’s false claim that the president is gutting the welfare to work requirement. Less than an hour after he made it, Politifact tweeted: “Again: Not true.”