(2 of 2)
Not that the podium show was any better. Speakers were whisked on and off the stage so fast it looked like the Tony Awards. San Diego not only marked the final metamorphosis of political conventions into TV productions; it also represented a low-water mark for political rhetoric. Susan Molinari, in her chirpy keynote speech, sounded like a PTA president urging more money for the school gym. Even Elizabeth Dole's acclaimed "Oprah-style" turn on the convention floor was the sort of motivational-speaker gimmick that plays better in person than on the TV screen; we've seen this act in too many infomercials.
The Republicans may have outsmarted themselves. By trying so hard to tailor their convention for TV, they drained it of most of the qualities--the old-fashioned theatrics, the contentious egos--that attracted viewers and journalists in the first place. Clinton aides are worried that they may suffer from the backlash. "It's just our luck that they went first," said a White House official who fears that "the networks will avenge themselves on the Democrats." To juice up their TV show, the Democrats are planning "more substantive presentations," a Clinton aide says. Will the last viewer turn out the lights?
--With reporting by J.F.O. McAllister/Washington