Through the years the altitude of the podium from the floor grew in direct proportion to the influence of the television coverage, until today the rostrum perches on a stage far above the seated delegates and it looks out not at them but at the tele-prompter and the cameras. It is, as television complains and demanded, a television show. It is staged, as television complains, because television demanded it. At news media urging, the selection process of delegates was fundamentally changed, to the point that primaries told the story, shearing a convention of any decisive suspense. There are not even smoke-free rooms anymore.
Democratization is complete.
We knew months ago it was Gore and Bush and so sure were they that they anointed their running mates well in advance, not on the third night of the proceeding. The evolution is now complete and those whose influence made it so now hate it and shun it. Convention coverage, once the pride and concern of broadcast networks, is a burden to be avoided. Sixteen minutes of GOP coverage on CBS on opening night, none of the Laura Bush speech. Rather introduced McCain as a fellow who was winning all the primaries until he was crushed by the big Bush money.