Democrats, Republicans Have Flipped Roles

The core messages are the same, but they've changed hands

A quick quiz: which American political party talked about social issues, military families and foreign policy at its convention? Which American political party celebrated the achievements of its most recent president and spoke about his legacy? And which American presidential candidate declared, "I have never been more hopeful about America?" If you guessed "Republicans" to the first two and "Mitt Romney" to the third, you would be quite wrong. And that was the odd thing about this two-week American political convention season: the parties' core messages are the same as ever, but their roles are now strangely reversed.