Chicago Protests Bode Ill for Dem Convention

Chicago police officers in riot gear fought off alleged anarchist protestors, after a large but peaceful anti-war march during the NATO summit devolved into violence on Sunday. According to the Charlotte Observer, the chaos is causing anxiety among those preparing for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte later this summer.

The events are significant to Charlotte because protest groups are planning to converge on the city en masse hoping to cast media attention on issues ranging from economic inequality and war to the environment.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers helping provide security for the NATO summit, including Chief Rodney Monroe, got a lesson Sunday on what might happen at the DNC. They gathered in a downtown park with gas masks but did not appear to be directly involved in the late afternoon standoff.

Charlotte Deputy Chief Harold Medlock also attended and said Sunday that the protest groups present in Chicago are "a pretty good representation" of who will demonstrate here.

The violent response to the NATO summit is only the latest in a series of ominous signs for the Obama camp as the Democratic Convention approaches.

The Romney campaign is closing in on Obama's cash advantage, slimming Romney's financing deficit from 12-1 to 2-1. Romney is also favored 51 percent over Obama's 43 percent in North Carolina, according to last week’s Rasmussen poll of the state.

Obama has recently pushed against North Carolina values, when he hailed same-sex marriage the day after a vote for an amendment to the state's constitution banned it.