It's had to believe that nearly a full week has passed since the Republican National Convention. It seems to me it's still so crisp in the public's imagination -- so fresh that it continues to resonate, maybe even more so with time.
I don't know how else to say this. I thought the GOP convention was an absolute triumph.
The production values were superb and they very cleverly used everyday Americans with compelling stories as their stars. It was Reganesque -- but updated for the times. What we saw were ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things and it strengthened us and gave us renewed faith in our country.
I read somewhere that Trump called upon the team that he used for The Apprentice to put this all together. And in a way it was a reality show (in the best sense of the term) in that it presented real people as the principals. It showed celebrities to be what they really are -- largely irrelevant.
In the process, President Trump basically said F. U. not only to the glitterati but also to all the inside-the-beltway egos who would have theoretically been showcased at a traditional convention. Which was fine because most of them are cutthroats anyway.
The COVID crisis opened the door to a great opportunity that Trump & Co. saw and took advantage of.
The Democrats missed the boat on this. Their convention largely took the form of a zoom chat. That may be fine on a computer or hand-held device but it doesn't work on a big, digital TV screen. Furthermore, their show was droll and largely negative.
The venue that the GOP used in DC was majestic (the Mellon Auditorium) but the presentations were intimate and suitable for TV since none of the speakers talked very long, their testimonies were highly personal, most never raised their voices and they spoke directly into the camera just as they were speaking to a single person. In so doing, they revealed themselves to an astonishing degree. They opened their hearts. In the rare cases when someone did shout (like Kimberly Guilfoyle) it bombed.
As for Biden I think he will debate. I think the Dems are OK with all this talk about his not being "up for" or capable of facing Trump in a debate because it lowers expectations and that's what they want. The media are playing along with this as well and Pelosi & Co. are part of it. That way, if he simply shows up, it's a Big Deal and a triumph, really -- and if he's even barely coherent he wins the debate. Watch out for this.
But Trump has proved again that he's a master of surprises. He can turn on a dime, he's has an uncanny ability to turn a setback into a comeback and he has an instinct for what plays in Peoria (and Kenosha) and elsewhere.
The man is an indefatigable marketing genius!
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