It’s Wednesday night, an hour and 20 minutes before prime time starts. During a break between speeches, “Footloose” blares over the PA system. I’m watching delegates dance, wave signs and swirl yellow and orange flags above their heads — heads covered with an array of attention-grabbing hats.

After a polite but muted welcome, delegates cheered enthusiastically when Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman forcefully presented his arguments as to why John McCain rather than Barack Obama should be the next president.

The changes and potential changes in this week's convention schedule reveal a lot about the significance, or lack thereof, of party conventions in the contemporary era.

Well before we fully assess the significance of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's candidacy for the future of women in politics, John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate raises a host of new questions about women and politics.

Several House Republicans, including Minnesota's John Kline, are spending at least part of the congressional recess waging a partisan protest over energy policy in a dormant House chamber instead of in their districts (or on vacation).  The current war of words between the two parties over energy policy highlights majority party leaders' tight control over the legislative agenda and just how entrenched the partisan divide has become on Capitol Hill.

This looks to be an extraordinary election year in Minnesota for the simple reason that half of the state's eight U.S. House races -- not to mention its U.S. Senate contest – are actually competitive.