The growing inclination to hype or trash convention speeches

One: The vast majority of folks in the media listen to speeches from political candidates and lawmakers all day long, week after week, month after month, year after year. They pick out clichés, tune out flowery rhetoric, scoff at awkward metaphors, and seek out novelty. (I’m probably as guilty of this as anyone.) The vast majority of the television audience sees relatively few political speeches in a year. Seeing a confident figure give an energetic speech, with pauses for roaring applause, and perhaps most importantly, saying things the listener agrees with, is going to get a positive response, even if the written text is nothing special.

Two: The reaction within the convention hall may be quite different from the reaction of the television audience. A reviewer may see the enthusiastic reaction of delegates and overestimate its appeal; also, I’ve heard that the acoustics in the hall are tough in some corners.

Three: People who do not like to hear speeches from Republicans do not watch Republican convention speeches, and the same is true for the Democrats. Thus, very few people will watch the speeches and not like them.