In the end, the two-party system survived. The four-day political convention is not holy writ chiseled into courthouses everywhere. The three-day convention, it turns out, works just as well, arguably even better.
The Republican National Convention was shortened by happenstance when it seemed as if Hurricane Isaac might hit Tampa, Fla. Indeed, the city said it stood ready to cancel the convention if the storm did.
This is the party’s second unfortunate experience with hurricanes. The GOP’s 2008 gathering in landlocked St. Paul, Minn., was shortened out of solidarity with Gulf Coast residents threatened by Hurricane Gustav.
Again, the party suffered no apparent damage and, in fact, thanks to vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, pulled off quite a lively convention.
The Democrats shortened theirs by design. Monday was Labor Day and conventions traditionally end on Thursday night. And, unlike the Republicans who had the possibility of contending with libertarian Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and his 160 delegates, the Democrats had no loose ends that might possibly mar their smoothly orchestrated affair.
The talking-head cable channels, always in need of programming, love the four-day affairs, but the major networks have restricted the glorified commercials these events have become to an hour or two of prime-time coverage each night.
Most of what the conventions do — adopt a platform and nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates — could easily be accomplished in a single evening.
House Speaker John Boehner, the presiding officer of the GOP convention, told The Associated Press, “Given as much news as people get today and the way they get their news, I’m not sure having a four-day convention in the future makes much sense.”
The conventions have increasingly been pushed up against Labor Day, where they compete with back-to-school activities and the start of football season. Bill Clinton, perhaps the Democratic Party’s best speaker, got 5 million more viewers than the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game, but only when MSNBC, PBS and Fox convention viewers were added in.
Three-day political conventions in mid-August seem like an idea whose time has come.
Scripps Howard News Service
Opinion
Other Views: A vote for shorter conventions
- Opinion
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Other Views: Still inspiring
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