The consensus of opinion (and ratings) is that the Republicans are doing a much better job of holding a convention viewers will actually watch. Considering most show biz people are Dems, you might have predicted just the opposite.
At a guess, I’d say what Donald Trump learned during his involvement with “reality” TV, and perhaps with the equally stage-managed professional wrestling, are substantially responsible for this outcome. Particularly with his TV show, he honed skills of building and sustaining an involving narrative, one that keeps viewers coming back.
I’m tempted to explore the hypothesis that in most presidential elections the better showman wins. I suspect Dilbert creator Scott Adams would agree. Admittedly, some election cycles neither candidate had much pizzazz.
In the absence of a pandemic, Trump the entertainer can fill arenas and single-handedly keep the crowds happy for over an hour. Is there any Democrat who can do this? Certainly none does it regularly or has people line up a day in advance to get in. That’s a real skill, and not at all common.
