Presidential Candidates Jockey for Convention Nominations

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 28, 2007 at 9:31 AM PST

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Have the Democratic and Republican National Conventions lost their usefulness? And what impact will the earlier primaries have on the biggest summer parties of '08? We'll talk with KPBS political corr

Tom Fudge: Today, political types are looking forward to the Iowa Caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, and of course, Super Duper Tuesday . That's Feb. 5, when California, not to mention New York, Texas and Illinois, will be holding their primaries.

But when are the national conventions? Oh those. I guess they'll be on TV sometime in the summer. The fact is, political conventions have become afterthoughts – media events with no real decision making or much drama. The only real drama is the acceptance speech of the nominee when we all wonder whether the candidate will blow it away or screw it up.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Gloria Penner is planning to attend the conventions of 2008. Gloria is the host of the Editors Roundtable and the KPBS political correspondent.

For more information about the 2008 conventions, read Gloria Penner's latest blog "Could the Conventions Get Exciting Again?" Guest

Gloria Penner , political correspondent for KPBS and host of Editors Roundtable . She also writes a weekly blog for KPBS Commentaries .