What Biden quitting means for Harris, the Democrats and Trump

Over the past half-century, political conventions have been transformed into somewhat boring affairs. With every minute carefully scripted for television, they’ve become extended multi-day commercials for the presidential nominee.

Last week’s Republican convention was certainly that way – even with Donald Trump’s overly long, sometimes rambling nomination acceptance speech.

Next month’s Democratic convention in Chicago is shaping up to be very, very different. Whatever script the party and the Biden campaign had been working on just got thrown out the window. Even if the party falls in line behind Harris, it will be difficult to plan – and control – how things unfold on the convention floor.

And if Harris doesn’t succeed in uniting the party, the convention could turn into a political free-for-all, with various candidates vying for the nomination before the cameras and behind closed doors.

It could make for gripping political theatre, live and unpredictable, in a way the American public has never before witnessed.