Do the Political Conventions Still Matter?
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The last time a so-called party "nominating convention" actually nominated a presidential candidate was in 1976. Now that's the business of primaries and caucuses state by state. That does not mean today's TV extravaganzas aren't important. We sketch the history of party conventions and look at why they still matter. Also, today's shooting outside the Empire State Building in midtown Manhattan, and Lance Armstrong gives up his fight against charges of doping—and his medal for cycling.
Banner image: President Gerald Ford, as the Republican nominee, shakes hands with nomination foe Ronald Reagan on the closing night of the 1976 Republican National Convention, August 19, 1976
Making News
Shooting Outside the Empire State Building ()
A shootout in midtown Manhattan near the Empire State Building took the lives of two people and wounded seven more this morning. Matthew Keys, reporter for Reuters News Service, has an update.
Guests:
- Matthew Keys: Reuters News Service, @ProducerMatthew
Main Topic
Political Party Conventions: What Are They For? ()
Party conventions used to nominate presidential candidates. Now that's all done in advance. Next week's Republican Party convention plans to break with tradition. Instead of waiting until Wednesday, they'll nominate Mitt Romney on Monday, the first day of their convention in Tampa. Does that mean conventions don't matter? Recent history suggests that they do. Remember Barack Obama's keynote speech in 2004? Remember Sarah Palin in 2008? We hear about conventions past — with the voices of Franklin Roosevelt, Hubert Humphrey, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. How have the raucous gatherings of political insiders evolved into carefully scripted TV productions? Will the Republicans finally unite behind Mitt Romney next week in Tampa? Can they survive the Florida weather?
Guests:
- Walter Shapiro: Yahoo News and Columbia Journalism Review, @waltershapiroPD
- Ted Widmer: Brown University
- Mike Vinich: delegate, 1960 Democratic National Convention
- Donald Katz: delegate, 1976 Republican National Convention
- Allan Lichtman: American University
- Martin Cohen: James Madison University
Links:
- Widmer's 'American Speeches: Political Oratory from the Revolution to the Civil War'
- Lichtman's 'White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement'
- Lichtman's 'Predicting the Next President: Keys to the White House'
- Cohen's 'The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform'
Reporter's Notebook
Lance Armstrong Walks Away from Doping Fight ()
One of America's iconic athletes has given up the fight to disprove allegations by the US Anti-Doping Agency that he was a ring-leader in systematic doping on his Tour-winning teams. Lance Armstrong, world renowned for fighting back after a bout with testicular cancer to win seven Tours de France, will be erased from the record books. Bonnie D. Ford writes about cycling for ESPN.com. John Hoberman, a Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, is a sports historian and the author of Testosterone Dreams: Rejuvenation, Aphrodesia, Doping.
Guests:
- Bonnie D. Ford: ESPN, @Bonnie_D_Ford
- John Hoberman: University of Texas at Austin
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