An editorial/By Dale McFeatters, Scripps Howard News Service
A Scandinavian-gloom thing
The local boosters and planners of the Republican convention in St. Paul probably expected -- if not exactly this -- something like it. It must be some kind of Scandinavian gloom thing.
He's superstitious, but is he lucky?
We knew John McCain was superstitious. He carries his lucky coins everywhere. And having a hurricane arrive during your convention on the anniversary week of Katrina might make anybody in his position superstitious. What we didn't know is that he is a high stakes politcal gambler.
Unconventional candidates
The Republicans are gathering in Minneapolis-St. Paul to nominate for president a candidate who by any conventional political wisdom shouldn't be there.And at John McCain's side will be a most unconventional pick as his running mate: Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor, a mother of five and a former sportswriter whose favorite food after snowmobiling is moose stew.
Democrats as united as Democrats get
The Democrats, for whom turmoil is a way of life, seem to have pulled off a near flawless convention with excellent primetime speeches by the principles and plenty of feel-good moments, even if they were scripted.

