The 2012 Republican convention and campaign was in retrospect the apex of the entitlement reform/austerity/Paul Ryan Republicanism. Ryan’s “Yes, you did build that” line at the convention .

Watching the balloon drop, I recall a former Trump aide, Laurie Gay, telling a story about ushering Trump through the 1988 convention the night that George H.W. Bush accepted his nomination.

And so, to the Republican National Convention: It was stupendous, a triumph in every way from production through pronounced meaning and ability to reach beyond the tent. It moved me.

Illinois Republican National Committeeman Richard Porter watches speakers during Wednesday's Republican National Convention session at Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (John J. Kim ...