Dems, GOP Rush to Steal Each Others' Convention Thunder

In past years, Democrats and Republicans would lay low while the other team bathed in nearly uninterrupted media coverage for week. How quaint. This year, expect plenty of "counter-programming" from both sides, as each tries to steal as much of the other's convention coverage as possible, reports Reuters. "The old tradition of parties giving each other a week to have uncontested conventions is a relic of the three TV network and two local papers media era," says a Democratic strategist.

For the Dems, VP Joe Biden will be holding events in Florida—he was even scheduled to go to Tampa Bay today, before security concerns related to Tropical Storm Isaac made that too much of a burden. Michelle Obama will be appearing on David Letterman's Late Show on Wednesday, while President Obama will campaign in Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia. The GOP also says it won't be taking any time off during the Democratic convention in North Carolina next week, and although schedules have not been firmed yet they will focus on swing states. (More Republican National Convention stories.)