The day after the convention the news cycle may very well be consumed by the jobs report. Going into the weekend the topic won't be Obama. The timing decision was just stupid.
How many of these reports have been out since May? What...12 or 16 or something like that. Obama is still ahead in most polls (I know you don't believe them and nationwide polls are meaningless but it's public opinion) and electorally he's a juggernaut that Romney hasn't begun to assail with about 60 days left.
The point is that until there is a barrier broken, it will just blend into the background noise of the campaign. Can you tell me who the 2nd woman to enter Congress was? What the name was of the 2nd black man to play big league baseball? Who the 8th man on the moon was? I would think you could tell me the firsts of those pretty easily. Whether it's up by a degree, down by a degree, or the same won't matter.
As for the timing; it comes out every week; right? When were they supposed to end the convention?