California clearly knows how to put on a show. No wonder journalists are grumbling about the overbearing security at Staples Center but not the story they have invaded L.A. to cover. For a non-news convention, there seems to be plenty to write about. Part of it is that the Democrats do a better impersonation of a dysfunctional family than this year's highly disciplined George W. Republicans. Part is the Long Goodbye of watching President Clinton saunter off the stage.
Part is that the country has never had a Jewish vice-presidential nominee.
Amid the palm trees and ocean breezes here in the home of MGM, Paramount and Fox, a city built on cinematic illusions, maybe there's just something in the air that makes everything seem like a star-studded extravaganza. The newspaper keeps shrugging off the complaints. In fact, convention-goers here got a real newspaper delivered to their hotels, but inside a cardboard envelope with a mockup USA Today front page touting . The two news outfits are polling partners. Polling is an inexact science.