Immediately before the Republicans met in St Paul, Minnesota, this week, the Democrats had used their own convention to mend the biggest defect in their campaign. Hillary and Bill Clinton united the party behind Barack Obama; then Mr Obama closed the proceedings with a fine speech in front of a delighted audience of 80,000, with 38m more watching on television. The Republicans had to follow that – with a hurricane bearing down on New Orleans, due to make landfall during the first day of their convention.

The hurricane was not as bad as feared, and the convention planners skilfully swerved around it. Meanwhile, Mr McCain had staked everything on the selection of Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his running-mate. She was a surprising choice, to put it mildly, in view of her youth and inexperience. With interviews and a televised debate against her formidable Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, still ahead, it is too early to call this gamble a success. But Mr McCain’s incredulous critics were forced to think twice on Wednesday night.