Keller @ Large: Big Expectations For Trump Convention
BOSTON (CBS) - Popcorn? Check.
Ice cold beverages, maybe some cans of Moxie for the kids? Check!
Are you as ready as I am for night one of the Republican Convention tonight? This year, I get to see the convention the way it is meant to be seen – as a summer-replacement TV show/infomercial hoping to pique the interest of disinterested viewers.
Let's face it, if you've been following the campaign closely, by now your mind is pretty much made up – you're with him, her, one of the other ones, or none of the above.
But if you are the distant, disinterested, legitimately undecided voter who will likely swing the balance in November, the GOP and Democratic four-night special mini-series is all about you.
So as you take in the rhetoric from Newt & Ted and the rest, soak up the theatrics (don't miss the speech by the creator of Ultimate Fighting Championship), and marvel at the charisma of the Trump family, keep an eye on what it is they're trying to sell you.
Is it a persuasive mix of principle and emotion, or just a cheap sales pitch? Are you up for hearing what you're going to hear this week every night for the next four-to-eight years? Would you trust each speaker to care for your pet while you're on vacation?
I do have big expectations for the Trump convention. If this gifted TV showman can't boost his numbers with four nights of prime-time, he might never do it.
But I do regret that he didn't have one vice-presidential contender audition each night, then walk on with the winner at the last moment.
Come on!
They just don't make showmen the way they used to.
Listen to Jon's commentary: