One noticeable difference between the Democratic and Republican conventions, at least so far, is the lack of substance at the latter. Our own Harold Meyerson sees no signs that conservatives are discussing the economy (probably because 57 percent of them think its great). Time's Joe Klein reports "the most striking thing about the evening was what was missing: even the slightest wisp of substance. Not even a detailed tax cutting proposal, not even a paean to anti-missile defense or a rant against Iran."
This is all in keeping with campaign manager Rick Davis's assertion that "This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates." Aha. Essentially, the plan is to bamboozle voters with McCain and Palin's biographies in the hopes that they don't notice that neither one of them has a coherent plan for what to do if they're elected. Frank Foer notices an eerie similarity between this strategy and John Kerry's 2004 plan to run as a war hero and little else. I imagine that McCain's plan to ignore the problems that matter most to American voters will turn out similarly.
--Tim Fernholz
