Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, right, clasps hands with vice presidential nominee John Edwards at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbertl)

Times have changed.

In Canada, several parties have opted for the votes to be counted by mail. In 2003, Liberals gathered in Toronto to anoint Paul Martin leader after all contenders, except Sheila Copps, had dropped out.

That's how it was looking in the months leading up to the Democratic

The major American networks decided to continue their trend to carry less and less of the convention goings-on. They'd set aside an hour a night for highlights and some of the keynote addresses.

For the most part, the convention is a tightly scripted event where party members can show their enthusiasm and present a unified front. The real action happens at the hundreds of events, receptions, breakfasts, fundraisers and parties that take place in hotels around the convention site.

Among the speakers who took to the podium were former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Ron Reagan (son of former Republican president Ronald Reagan), Teresa Heinz Kerry (wife of John Kerry), Elizabeth Edwards (wife of John Edwards) and Madeleine Albright (former secretary of state).

In his speech, Bill Clinton said he, George Bush and Bush's vice-president, Dick Cheney, all chose paths that avoided the Vietnam War, while Americans like John Kerry accepted their duty to serve in the military.

"John Kerry came from a privileged background. He could have avoided going, too. But instead he said, 'Send me' ...Tonight my friends, I ask you to join me for the next 100 days in telling John Kerry's story and promoting his ideas," Clinton said. "Let every person in this hall and like-minded people all across this land say to him what he has always said to America: 'Send me.'"

Kerry wasn't even at the convention when some of the key speeches were being delivered on day one. He was campaigning in Florida. He arrived two days later, to accept the nomination of his party.

As he addressed the final session of the convention, Kerry pledged he would not hesitate to use force to protect the nation, but promised to engage only in a war of necessity.

"I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty," Kerry told 4,000 delegates who waved flags and signs and roared their approval. In the

It was a speech designed to address concerns that he's soft on security and not as strong a leader as President Bush.

The exercise of presenting John Kerry and John Edwards as the Democratic hopefuls cost $150 million, including $50 million for security – a hefty price tag for a convention party officials said would focus on making Kerry better-known and more likable.

The message may have been received by the 4,353 delegates and 611 alternates representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the group Democrats Abroad. But the television ratings far from sizzled – and that post-convention surge in popularity the Democrats were hoping for did not materialize.

Going into the convention, the polls suggested the race between John Kerry and George Bush would be a tight one. In the days following the convention, the polls suggested that the race between Bush and Kerry – the man everyone knew would be leading the Democrats – would be a tight one.