Ok, now that we've gotten past the non-convention day due to Gustav, and the Republicans in St. Paul have gotten their convention off to a partisan start, I have to comment on the podium.

I've had a fascination with the “set design” of political conventions for years. I remember back in 1988 when the Dukakis campaign was criticized for the palate of colors used for the podium in Atlanta. They didn’t use true red white and blue, but pastel substitutes.

Last week the Democrats had a pretty spectacular podium at the Pepsi Center,

and when they moved it to Mile High Stadium; they added some stately columns and a rostrum to the mix, taking design elements from the 2004 GOP event in New York.

Contrast the current podium at the Republican convention this week:

It is very plain. In fact the design of the whole convention is quite understated as compared to what we saw with the Democrats last week, and podiums we have seen in the past. I haven’t seen a design this plain since maybe 1972 or 1976. Sure, the huge digital screen that serves as a backdrop is high tech, but it is technology that is delivering some simple and bold imagery. I do suspect that there is some amateurishness in the McCain camp, but I don’t think the design cues at the Excel Center are an accident or a sign of penny-pinching the convention budget. Perhaps this look is meant to telegraph McCain as the opposite of the “celebrity,” Obama.