Vice President Joe Biden was greeted with cheers at the NAACP convention in Houston this week. In the keynote address of the five-day gathering, Biden delivered a forceful defense of President Obama's health-care reform law and slammed Republicans pushing for new laws requiring IDs at the ballot box, which he said amounted to "voter suppression." The reception stood in stark contrast to the boos GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney received the day before, when he told the mostly African-American audience that he would repeal ObamaCare. But Romney scored points for having the courage to speak directly to such an overtly pro-Obama crowd, while some members of the civil rights group expressed disappointment that Obama, who cited a scheduling conflict, didn't show up in person, and grumbled that the president was taking their support for granted. Did Obama squander an opportunity to fire up some of his most ardent supporters by making a rousing appearance of his own?

Yes. Obama really blew it: "It's a big mistake for Obama to skip this appearance," says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. Romney's strong speech isn't going to turn black voters into conservatives. "It is possible, though, for Obama to lose enthusiasm and turnout" among African-Americans, due to high unemployment and the sense that he "can't be bothered to pay attention to this most loyal of all Democratic Party constituencies."