Laughing, because it's so cynical a political move. NC and VA were the only southern states Obama carried in 2008. Setting the convention in the beachhead of the South seems pandering and an obvious ploy to curry favor with the rest of the South.
Crying, because the Democratic party can't stop trying to convert the South, which has shown nothing but resistance to every progressive move since reconstruction. The party does not need the entire South to secure the White House and it's high time we stop tailoring an agenda to make it easier to swallow for people who don't want to be part of the party anyway.
It will be an interesting convention, but I'd bet the true face of America will be in the protests outside the auditorium, not with the speeches from inside.
