The 2012 political conventions were unworthy of an important election

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—A few quiet morning-after moments at the airport have prompted me to ponder a question that rarely pops up in the hyperactive frenzy of political analysis at conventions: What do we know about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney that we didn’t know 10 days ago? The honest answer is not much. Yes, it is impressive that both candidates married women who have learned how to give powerful and emotionally resonant political speeches. The testimonials from the men and women whom Romney helped as a lay leader of the Mormon church linger in memory. Bill Clinton, in the greatest speech ever delivered by an ex-president at a political convention, advanced a new argument that Romney’s proposed cuts in Medicaid funding would cripple middle-class families who depend on the program for nursing-home coverage for their relatives. And as Obama and Joe Biden kept repeating Thursday night in a burst of rhetorical overkill, Osama bin Laden is dead. Correction: We already knew that bin Laden had been killed by Navy SEALs, even though Obama radiated the impression that he wants to commemorate the moment on the Great Seal of the United States.