Why the Trump convention crackles with life

Yes, it's provocative and maybe a little gauche. But consider the alternative.

Trump at the 2016 RNC.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Republican National Convention changed so fast Monday, you could have gotten whiplash.

For all the talk of Republicans getting a Trumpian makeover in this year, the first half of the convention's first day featured a Republican Party that looked more conventionally Republican and older than usual. It was all silver-hairs and septuagenarians invoking the legacy of Reagan, and shouting the oldest and most stale tunes from the Republican hymnal.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.