But instead of riling up the crowd like other speakers before him this week, Obama took a pleading tone, asking his supporters to choose the right direction for the nation.

“The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place,” he said. “And I’m asking you to choose that future. I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country.”

Obama officially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president Thursday in a full house and turned his campaign’s focus to moving forward toward Nov. 6, a sentiment oft repeated by Democrats this week at the Democratic National Convention, or DNC.

His speech was rife with retrospection, a change in tone from the 2008 convention, when he called for new practices in the White House after eight years of Republican leadership.

With Thursday marking the end of two weeks of party conventions, the general election will pick up in full swing until Nov. 6.

Both Obama and his opponent, Republican nominee Mitt Romney, likely will ride a wave of support following the conventions.

But Obama, campaigning during a too-slowly rebounding economy and tense political climate, faces another challenge of maintaining the support that ushered him into the White House in 2008.

The incumbent’s advantage
Obama’s speech capped a week of political caucuses, speeches and rallying cries to elect the president to another term in the White House.

He spoke of clean energy and the middle class, careful to avoid a jobs report but emphasizing his foreign policy experience.

Preceding him this week were notables such as former presidents Jimmy Carter, who spoke via video Tuesday, and Bill Clinton, who praised Obama Wednesday night for stimulating job growth after being inaugurated.

Clinton, who frequently strayed from his script to ad-lib, elicited an enormous standing ovation for his 48-minute speech, demanding the nation re-elect Obama if it wants “a more perfect union.”

Both Republicans and Democrats have used Obama’s record — particularly unemployment rates and health care — to shape their own arguments about who should be elected the 45th president.

MSU political science professor Paul Abramson said Obama’s record already gives him a push among his own base, as some of the problems he faced early in his term have improved.

“The incumbent usually has an advantage because people are willing to give the incumbent another chance, unless he’s done very badly,” he said.

The slow economic growth rate might be reason to vote against him, Abramson said, but fortunately for Obama, Romney has been unable to generate enthusiasm the way Obama himself did in 2008.

Still, Obama and Romney are neck and neck in most recent polls, and a Gallup poll released Thursday placed Obama in the lead by 1 percent.

The New York Times blogger Nate Silver, an East Lansing native, surmised polls next week would show Obama with a slightly higher lead over Romney from what he called “convention bounce,” in which a candidate gets a boost in the polls thanks to exposure during the convention.

Silver’s own election forecast there is a 76 percent chance Obama will be re-elected, which Abramson said seemed too high.

“The polls, however, show a very close race, and I think you’ll have to wait until a week after the convention to see how things settle,” Abramson said.

Political theater
Four years ago at the DNC in Denver, Obama launched an offensive against the Republican Party leadership of the previous eight years.

Newly nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, Obama denounced the failed policies of his predecessor and vowed to keep the American promise alive.

His presidential campaign reveled in promises of hope and change, and he rallied the youth base.
Four years ago, Obama used the widespread disapproval of George W. Bush’s policies to differentiate himself from Republican leadership, Abramson said.

Now, Obama needs to find a way to separate himself from the conditions that currently exist, particularly a tough economy.

Similarly, Republicans probably are trying to separate themselves from unpopular past Republican decisions, Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer said.

“They didn’t even mention George Bush, let alone (have) him show up at the convention,” Brewer said. “Why? Because his policies were so devastating.”

Eight years of Republican leadership was enough, Obama said in 2008.

Brewer said the policies instituted under the Bush administration are the same policies the current Republican Party supports, and voters don’t want to go back.

This year, Obama takes up a defensive role against challenger Romney, but his record is worth defending, state Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said.

On Wednesday night, when delegates formally nominated Obama for the presidency, Tlaib stood at the front of the Michigan delegation, announcing it would cast its 203 votes to re-elect the president.

Tlaib, the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan Legislature, said it was an honor to represent Michigan’s diverse voters at the DNC.

“I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face,” she said. “Those are the moments that you cherish and you remember the rest of your life.”

Getting in gear
For Michiganians, the state of the auto industry holds significant influence over how people will vote.

As the Big Three car companies are a significant part of the makeup of Michigan’s workforce, Obama’s decision to grant government assistance to the ailing auto industry likely is viewed as beneficial to the state’s economic health.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schulz — who said Monday Michigan is an important battleground state for Obama to win — said many Americans take pride in knowing the car was invented in the United States, and Romney’s lack of support for the auto industry is off-putting.

“To let that fall by the wayside … most Americans would have found that offensive,” she said.

To MSU College Democrats Vice President Rawley Van Fossen, Obama’s tone and messages definitely have changed now that he has a term under his belt, but now the discussion will focus on moving forward.

“People assume in four years you should be able to accomplish everything,” he said. “Too many times, people in these past four years have forgotten there are three branches of government. (But) we need partnerships to really move forward.”

Brewer said Obama should draw on the stark contrasts between Republicans and Democrats, citing the candidates’ differing views on the auto industry bailout as an example of how important a candidate’s record is.

“It does make a difference,” he said. “(Obama) has a great record in Michigan, starting with the auto industry. He has a great record to run in Michigan.”