Convention Postponed, but the Show Must Go On

Athletes can forfeit a basketball game or a tennis match, but there is no rain day for a political convention. Especially when a hurricane looms, and events are delayed, the news media doesn’t stand down; it keeps smacking the ball onto an empty court. Viewers who thought the 2012 Republican convention was postponed until August 28 were misinformed: it opened on Aug 27 as scheduled, only without state delegates, speakers or party leaders. Instead, in skyboxes overlooking empty seats, hordes of anchors, reporters and commentators discussed politics and the weather, two topics that, in this case, came intertwined.