What is the US presidential nominating convention?

Answer 1

In the USA, a presidential nomination convention is held by the majority of political parties every four years to begin the run-up to the presidential election. The first national convention was held in 1831 by the Anti-Masonic Party, and the Democrats followed suit the next year, and the Republicans 23 years later. Although many of the conventions' formal purposes have been abolished due to changes in election laws, they still include the selection and confirmation of nominees for the presidency and vice-presidency, establishing a platform of party policy and electing a national committee of the party. They supposedly have other, less tangible functions, which could be why they're still around today, though cynics have branded them as "Hollywood" and "Media saturation".

Conventions have been said to create a feeling of bonding, team spirit and hype. By staging a large-scale event attracting a congregation of supporters, paired with a carnival-like atmosphere with music, chanting, banners etc, a nominee's support can be strengthened and widened, since the supporters will mainly be surrounded by like-minded people united on similar ideas, which could attract others, especially floating voters, to 'join the party band wagon', helped largely by massive media coverage.

The ceremonial events of accepting the nominations for presidency and vice presidency are followed by acceptance speeches, which have generally moved more towards being speeches of an emotional nature, rather than being solely based on policy and technical details. The aim of this is to give a more personalised and overwhelming feeling to the public and supporters, by appealing to their emotions. This is preceded by other speakers, usually other important political figures, announcing their support for the candidate, for example, Hillary Clinton offering her support for Barack Obama in the 2008 Democrats' nomination convention, after losing to him in a closely-fought battle for the presidential nomination, quote, "One party, one purpose." Proclaiming her allegiance to Obama after losing to him is with the aim to bring a sense of unity to the party, or at least the public, and to mask any separation within the party, which is a core function of the nomination convention, as parties which are not united are seen as weaker governments, which would compromise the party's campaign for power.