The consensus on Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night, and in effect on the Democratic National Convention as a whole, is that it was a bust.

Digital Domain Media Group's collapse last week made victims of all Florida taxpayers. To the tune of $20 million. But few of those taxpayers will feel the pinch quite as directly as the long-suffering citizens of Port St. Lucie.

Even as Florida Democrats gathered in Charlotte, N.C., to nominate President Barack Obama for re-election, they were still mindful of a target closer to home: Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Party officials and activists are clearly animated by the prospect of defeating Scott, who emerged from one of the closest elections in Florida's history to become one of the most unpopular governors in recent memory. And while Scott's numbers have improved recently, Democrats are still hopeful that 2014 will bring their first victory in the race for governor in 20 years.

This time four years ago, there was a lot of talk of "hope and change." This week, President Obama exhorted Americans to continue to hope rather than to make a change.

And a Florida politician had his own kind of change on display. Charlie Crists change of heart, from "Ronald Reagan and Jeb Bush Republican" to an Obama-backing speaker at the Democratic National Convention, brought the expected calls of derision from his former Republican brethren who said he really hasn't changed and is just the same old opportunistic Charlie.