The Democratic National Convention, which begins (Sept. 4) in Charlotte, faces a different challenge from the one that faced Republicans last week.

Mitt Romney and company had the duty to explain what they intend to do if he becomes president. The Obama Administration must answer questions about what it has done so far and would do in a second term.

Inevitably, that discussion requires a focus on the economy, which is still mired in unemployment amid an anemic recovery. Stimulus spending, while dismissed as a failure by Republicans, arguably kept the country from toppling into the abyss of insolvency….

Clearly, tough choices need to be made. It’s not enough to accuse Republicans of seeking to wreck Medicare and Social Security. The multitrillion dollar question is: How can President Obama pursue a progressive agenda when the nation has no ready money?…

The Democrats’ challenge at this convention will be to give voters positive, detailed, exciting reasons to vote for them. To that end, Mr. Obama’s famed oratorical skills are needed as never before.

— Distributed by The Associated Press