IS IT OFFICIAL YET?
The two major political parties have schemed, apparently amongst themselves, to create a changed system. No longer does the popular vote among the party faithful culminate in a nominating convention in which the voice of the party is carried to the floor by delegates.
Now we have an orchestrated system, so that the candidates are anointed well in advance of the conventions. Running mates are announced when it seems most expedient for the sake of news coverage. And the majority of the major speeches by the party leaders are peppered with research-proven terms and phrases.
So the real point of watching the opening night ceremonies and speeches, as the Democrats go first this time around, is to gauge what the rhetoric flavor will be for the next 14 weeks ... and to see how well the major players do in giving speeches to the assembled faithful.
Clinton set the tone: Kerry is brave, Kerry is not fearful, Kerry will lead. And Clinton ticked off the failings of the current administration, pointing out that safety has been lessened and threats increased, plus that promised unification and compassionate form of governing never came to be . . . and that it is time for a new leader.
And Clinton did so in his finest oratory.
The coming nights will have speeches from Edwards, and then Kerry. Teddy Kennedy will get his shot, as will some others. But we now know the ground rules and the Democratic Party sound bite and slate shaping.
So, is it official yet?
Or do we have to wait until the nomination goes through the actual process of the convention? Do we wait until the GOP has their moment in New York, and then declare it to be campaign season?
It might just be better if this whole thing was put on hold until after the World Series. Then, at least, we Baseball fans of America (it is the national pastime) would no longer go right to the Sports pages to see the standings, and could pay attention to the rhetoric.
Oh, never mind. All that was already put in place a few months ago. Now we are just getting the official version. Maybe that's why Baseball is feeling more interesting than the convention.