We’ve seen a number of instances of the “I repeat the line or question and then you repeat / chant in unison” cliché today. The most recent example is Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who has asked the crowd several times “Who will stand up?” and such, to which the crowd responds “John Kerry will!”

But here’s the issue: in each instance, people have played the game, but the vibe hasn’t really been there. Some of that might be that we’re all wise to the game … that it really has become cliché. It might also be that people are simply in the middle of the convention and the energy level isn’t yet fully tweaked. But I don’t think either of those elements are the whole of the matter. Sharpton had people chanting vigorously when he wished, and sometimes when he didn’t, and the vibe of the crowd was beyond enthusiastic when doing so.

I’m left to wonder: Is it the timing, or the speaker and his or her ability to motivate, or is it the subject? Is the crowd really that passionate about Kerry?

I have to tell you, I’m not feeling it. Now, let’s be clear: the crowd is VERY passionate. And they are VERY passionate about winning the election, and I get lots of “we love the party” vibe and lots of “we love certain party stars” vibe and lots of “boot Bush” vibe. But I haven’t picked up any widespread “we love Kerry vibe.” I don’t hear anyone talking about how excited they are to hear him speak, or how electrified they expect to be when he takes the floor (although, with the continued building of anticipation, I imagine electrified they will be). If anything, the discursive expectations are built around Edwards tonight, who everyone expects to knock it out of the park.

It’s like the woman I interviewed the other night, the dyed-in-the-wool Massachusetts democrat who described Kerry as the “lesser of two evils.” I’ve only been here one day, and it’s too early to say this with any certainty—after all, tomorrow the vibe may be very different—but right now, this feels to me very much a convention for the party and for the upsetting of the incumbent, but not a convention to anoint a favorite leader.

And in the end, it may be that it’s not important … that the point is to motivate the faithful and move the message. But it’s not what I expected to see.