I was wondering if anyone is planning on watching the party conventions. The first convention I can remember having any interest in was that of the Democrats in 1956 at which Adlai Stevenson was nominated for a second time. The choice of a vice-presidential nominee was not then pre-ordained, and John F. Kennedy made a very public effort to challenge Estes Kefauver, who eventually gained the nomination. It was widely suggested that Kennedy had made the effort, knowing that it would probably be fruitless, in order to make his name familiar around the country.

Then there were the 1968 conventions in Miami and in Chicago, their contrasting atmospheres brilliantly evoked by Norman Mailer’s book. That was such a dramatic year for many other reasons, too. I have no memory of any conventions since, and I myself do not expect to watch much, if any, of this week’s shenanigans. Someone has described the conventions as glorified info-mercials, which is about right, I think. Don’t buy anything you hear advertised.