Over the past half-century, political conventions have degenerated into rather boring events, with every moment carefully scripted for television, and they have become days-long advertisements for presidential candidates.
Last week’s Republican National Convention certainly was that way, despite Donald Trump’s overly long and sometimes rambling acceptance speech.
The Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month is likely to be very, very different. The party and the Biden campaign have all been working on a script that has been thrown out the window. Even if the party backs Harris, it will be difficult to plan and control how things unfold at the convention.
If Harris fails to unite the party, the convention could devolve into a political free-for-all, with multiple candidates vying for the nomination in front of cameras and behind closed doors.
This could present vivid and unpredictable political theater the likes of which the American people have never seen before.
