For all those who view the nominating conventions of the major parties as overly scripted, predictable and boring, Wednesday night's session of the Republican National Convention came as a jolt.
The third night of this extravaganza had all the usual hoopla — plus a blackout on the jumbo screens, delegates screaming at each other and a major presidential candidate getting booed off the stage.
Not since the parties and their nominees began carefully scripting these quadrennial affairs a generation ago have we seen such an outburst of dueling egos and counterproductive emotion.
Did we say we wanted more sense of drama? Imagine two famous actors involved in a climactic scene, each fired with his own ambition and working furiously to upstage the other. Now envision such a clash playing out before thousands of delegates and onlookers and millions of TV viewers and voters.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the first- and second-place finishers in the GOP's primaries and caucuses, went at it once more with the whole world watching. The high-stakes of their brinkmanship brought to the flashpoint all the anger and tension pent up in this convention over three days — and in this party over several decades.
It also overshadowed a sturdy performance later in the evening by the party's now-official vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who displayed the earnest brand of classic conservatism for which he is known.
But neither Pence's speech nor Trump's own controversial remarks about NATO, released by The New York Times after the convention ended, could displace the headlines about the Trump-Cruz feud.
Cruz stole the show by refusing to endorse the party's now-official champion, who had allowed him a prime-time speaking spot on the night of Pence's acceptance speech (and on the eve of Trump's own). That sent everyone scrambling to history books for a precedent.
"Ted Cruz wanted to leave Republican delegates with a case of buyer’s remorse"
Read more: Republican National Convention 2016: Donald Trump-Ted Cruz Feud Flares Anew : NPR
The third night of this extravaganza had all the usual hoopla — plus a blackout on the jumbo screens, delegates screaming at each other and a major presidential candidate getting booed off the stage.
Not since the parties and their nominees began carefully scripting these quadrennial affairs a generation ago have we seen such an outburst of dueling egos and counterproductive emotion.
Did we say we wanted more sense of drama? Imagine two famous actors involved in a climactic scene, each fired with his own ambition and working furiously to upstage the other. Now envision such a clash playing out before thousands of delegates and onlookers and millions of TV viewers and voters.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the first- and second-place finishers in the GOP's primaries and caucuses, went at it once more with the whole world watching. The high-stakes of their brinkmanship brought to the flashpoint all the anger and tension pent up in this convention over three days — and in this party over several decades.
It also overshadowed a sturdy performance later in the evening by the party's now-official vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who displayed the earnest brand of classic conservatism for which he is known.
But neither Pence's speech nor Trump's own controversial remarks about NATO, released by The New York Times after the convention ended, could displace the headlines about the Trump-Cruz feud.
Cruz stole the show by refusing to endorse the party's now-official champion, who had allowed him a prime-time speaking spot on the night of Pence's acceptance speech (and on the eve of Trump's own). That sent everyone scrambling to history books for a precedent.
"Ted Cruz wanted to leave Republican delegates with a case of buyer’s remorse"
Read more: Republican National Convention 2016: Donald Trump-Ted Cruz Feud Flares Anew : NPR
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