Questions About the Convention

What's more important for Obama at the convention -- to define himself or to define John McCain?

Barack Obama has much to do at his convention. After a month of attacks from John McCain's campaign and time off the trail for a Hawaii vacation, Obama needs the convention to reenergize his campaign heading into the final two months of the general election. Picking Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running mate began that process, but he has plenty more to accomplish this week.

Republicans see Obama's principal goal as defining himself, rather than defining McCain. "This election is all about whether Obama is, in the McCain campaign's phrase, 'ready to lead,' " Republican strategist Whit Ayres noted. "If a majority think the answer is yes, he wins. If a majority think the answer is no, McCain wins."

Democrats have two views. Many agree with Republicans about the need for Obama to use the week to fill out his personal story. "Obama is in a similar position to Bill Clinton in '92," Democratic strategist Tad Devine said in a message. "People need to get a handle on him. In the end, this election is about him. He needs to let people know as much about his values and priorities as he can in four days."

Other Democrats believe a far more urgent priority for Obama is to frame the choice for voters as clearly and as starkly as he can. "The images of both men are by now indelibly imprinted on voters' minds," wrote Rick Sloan of the International Association of Machinists. "Rather than wasting time defining himself or his opponent, Senator Obama should define his pathway for changing the direction of this country."

But Obama and his surrogates dare not make the entire convention about him. Four years ago, most of the creative efforts at the party's convention focused on John F. Kerry's biography and Vietnam War record, and it was assumed that people didn't need to talk about President Bush. That approach is now seen as a big miscalculation. "Obama needs to define himself, but others must define McCain," wrote Howard Wolfson, communications director for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign. "We cannot repeat the mistake of the '04 convention."

Have Democrats truly gotten over the long Obama-Clinton battle?

The Obama-Clinton drama is the second most important story line of the Democratic convention. Obama needs a party that is either fully united or clearly heading rapidly in that direction by the time Democrats break camp on Thursday night.

Clinton has been virtually pitch-perfect in her public appearances on behalf of Obama since the primaries ended, but the same can't always be said of some of her supporters and her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Her speech on Tuesday and her husband's speech on Wednesday will be dissected by the media, by the Republicans and by loyalists in both camps for evidence of whether the wounds from the primaries have healed.

Republicans are gleeful over the possibility of continued division, and they are ready to seize on any signs of it to sow further discord within the Democratic family. "As long as Hillary's forces continue to be sore losers and Obama's people are arrogant sore winners, they will never fully heal," GOP strategist Todd Harris said.

That may be wishful thinking. What is key for Democrats is not for the Clinton loyalists to forget their disappointment, but for them to rally behind Obama and Biden in spite of it. The convention should move them a significant step closer to that goal -- and many Democrats are confident both Clintons will deliver.

"This will be one of the major positives from this convention," Democratic strategist Bill Carrick said.

"By Election Day," predicted Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, "Obama will get nearly 90 percent of the Democratic vote."