My Fantasy: Conventions With Real Drama

Please indulge me in my ultimate political fantasy. To date, I have attended 16 national political conventions: 11 Democratic and five Republican. At each and every one, the presidential nominee was selected on the first ballot.

I desperately want to go to a convention where it takes more than one ballot to get the prize. The last time that happened? For the Republicans, 1948, and for the Democrats, 1952. (To be perfectly clear, I didn’t make it to either of those gatherings.)

In 1948 in Philadelphia, Thomas E. Dewey was the GOP presidential nominee. You may recall that Alice Roosevelt Longworth memorably described Dewey as “the little man on the wedding cake.” In 1952 in Chicago, the Democrats nominated the governor of Illinois, Adlai E. Stevenson. Stevenson was erudite and witty, and there was a genuine draft to get him to run.

A little history is relevant to my fantasy. For you readers who crave convention minutia: Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated in 1932 on the fourth ballot, Warren G. Harding was nominated in 1920 on the 11th ballot and, in 1924, the granddaddy of them all, John W. Davis was nominated on the 103rd ballot. (You read that right.)

In recent political memory, there have been some attempts to break out of the first-ballot groove. In 1960, John F. Kennedy barely made it when Teno Roncalio of Wyoming put him over. In 1976, Ronald Reagan nearly sent Gerald Ford into the second ballot. Then, in 1980, Ted Kennedy tested Jimmy Carter.

Most conventions are pre-ordained and wholly scripted — coronations, not contests. Everyone knows who the nominee is going to be. No suspense, no surprises.

What I want is for both parties to have conventions with drama. The Republicans will gather in Cleveland July 18 to 21. I’m hoping that no one gets the required 1,237 delegates — not Trump, not Cruz, not Rubio. Let the aspirants duke it out on the convention floor. Let’s see some real action for a change: horse-trading, maneuvering, finagling, the works.

The same, I hope, will occur in Philadelphia, where the Democrats will meet July 25 to 28. Imagine that both Sanders and Clinton fall short of the magic number of 2,382 delegates. Maybe a new candidate will step forward, seeking to take advantage of the turmoil … Joe Biden … Sen. Elizabeth Warren … a complete dark horse like Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio … the possibilities are endless!

That’s the way it should be.

In the summer of 1948, Philadelphia hosted not one but four political conventions; Dewey was the nominee of the Republicans, Truman of the Democrats, Wallace (Henry, not George) of the Progressives and Thurmond of the Dixiecrats. The last time the Republicans met in Cleveland was 1936. They nominated Alf Landon for president and carried two states in the November election. (Perhaps that’s an omen for the elephants.)

Above all, let’s bring back the smoke-filled rooms, the challenged delegations, the favorite sons, the long, rambling nominating speeches, the floor demonstrations — with gavel-to-gavel coverage that will grab you and keep you enthralled for four fabulous days.

That’s my dream.

Political analyst Mark Plotkin is a contributor to the BBC on American politics and a contributor to TheHill.com. Reach him at markplotkindc@gmail.com.