Convention Watching

Now that the Olympics are completed, it is time for our every four-year Presidential Sweepstakes in which we the people get to exercise our right to vote for the officials who will declare war and raise taxes while fighting economic maladies. Well, it sounds good anyway.

And it is off to Tampa, for the Republican entertainment. I think it would have been more fun had no one actually wrapped up the nomination. Maybe we the voters and people would have been better served as we watched the floor fights and the dealing to determine a candidate.

So the really fun part will be if the hurricane hits Tampa at the same time that Romney is accepting the nomination. Would that be considered a mandate for winds of change?

What do I expect from the convention? Not much really. It is just another campaign event.

And after the Republicans--then the Democrats get their turn. I think the last convention with meaning was the 1944 Democratic convention which found Harry Truman on the ticket with FDR--that was not the plan at the start of the convention--but it was a back room deal.

Unless Biden winds up being replaced, I'm not thinking we will have anything that exciting.

Too bad.

We could use a bit of mystery in the election season to help people decide.

But, with the Olympics over, we do need something to talk about and the conventions should do the trick. That is, if the Republicans don't get rained out.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD