Conventions and what to expect.

Realistically, it's just a shift from primary campaigning to general election campaigning. It's the function of a convention to give those who were not the victors in the primaries to throw the weight of their political machine behind the candidate who did win the nomination. To expect that a modern political convention (which serves approximately the same function as a pep rally) to serve as a forum where the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate who is nominated are actually discussed reasonably and thoroughly is an unreasonable standard in the modern convention era. The modern convention is much less about nominating and much more about a show of party unity after the essentially divisive process of primary campaigning. Especially in the case of the Clintons, who are heading up a political machine spanning more than a decade, including pivotal Southern Democrats, it is vital for their political legacy, their future political prospects and their position within the party to throw their support behind Obama. This is not to say that they have necessarily abandoned their reservations about Obama and/or the people around him. There are myriad other outlets for them to voice their objections and suggestions for change within the Obama campaign. But of course they won't criticize him on the convention floor. That is no longer the function of the convention, nor is it in the Clintons' interest.