In his weekly op-ed column, Dr. Bode argues that political conventions -- once fraught with drama, controversy and news -- have become pre-scripted bores. "There will be no serious platform challenges at either convention this year. In fact, it is a safe bet there will not be a single minority report in Boston or New York, none that you will see on television. Once there were even floor fights and second ballots over the vice presidency. Now, of course, the tradition is to get that mystery out of the way early. It all began to change when the Democrats abandoned their rule requiring a two-thirds majority for the nomination.