The GOP convention is a transparent, shameless, deceptive sales pitch. There was a trivial amount of party bureaucracy to do, five seconds' worth, and it's done. But now... every second of the rest it, every word uttered, every speaker presented, is a prime-time snake-oil infomerical. They get to deliver extended remixes of the jaw-dropping lies they've been dishing out in 30-second teasers for the last 12 months. Other than that... ?

Nothing.

Nominees are chosen months before the conventions, these days, so there is no real reason to have this kind of convention any more - let alone devote so much coverage to it. They're making it crystal clear that they're simply using the media's reluctance to abandon tradition to get a week of free advertising for their guy.

And it is nauseating.