Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders greet...

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders greet each other with an elbow bump at the Democratic presidential primary debate on March 15. Credit: AP / Evan Vucci

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The cancellation this week of New York's Democratic presidential primary proves both novel and banal at the same time. The novelty results from election officials citing a national health crisis to derail a big statewide vote. The banality arises when party leaders crush the risk of a snag for their anointed candidate.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the last primary holdout against former Vice President Joe Biden, suspended his campaign three weeks ago. If the state contest had gone forward, Biden's forces would have had to drum up votes anyway on June 23 — just to avert the potential embarrassment of a strong Sanders showing that symbolically rebukes the presumptive nominee.

The banal and the novel are mixing in other ways. Earlier this month, Democrats pushed back their convention in Milwaukee from mid-July to the week of Aug. 17. This is the week preceding President Donald Trump's scheduled GOP coronation in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Even if convening proves medically safe by then for both parties, the coronavirus crisis forces you to think for a moment about the whole point of preelection traditions. If an outcome is suspense-free and pre-scripted anyway, delegates could cast their votes from afar and end up with the same nominees. Perhaps platform committees could meet over the internet in a virtual convention.

But when party delegates convene in person, rebellions can occur — much as the party powers try to enforce "unity." Lose the opportunity for such a fight and grass-roots participation could also be lost.

Clearly, the process could not be the same without conventions. State delegations living together and meeting each day have their own kinds of discussion that can sway strategies back home.

Certain banalities would also be lost, such as jockeying over the good seats, the good hotels and certain corporate sponsorships.

Alternatives to a convention are uncharted territory.

Suppose that rules of social distancing must last for months more or are revived in the fall. Are general-election debates even necessary to spin or motivate voters this time, or will our hardships change our political priorities?

Americans who pay attention already have a good idea of what Biden and Trump are prepared to say about the major issues and each other. Their spontaneity and televised performances could be compared in a face-to-face debate. When it comes to the substance of their positions, however, they might as well submit completed questionnaires.

Face-to-face debates always were supposed to be a platform for making substantial appeals to voters. They have not lived up to that billing for a long time, given all the usual hype about WWE-style "knockout blows" and candidates talking over each other.

Last week, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized all general-election debates since 1988, said in a statement it would “continue to monitor and assess developments regarding public health and safety as debate planning proceeds.”

For all the uncertainty, this campaign retains many of the main features of a reelection contest. The incumbent must argue for an extension in office; the challenger must argue for a change of direction. The loss of lives and serious economic crisis from the pandemic already have changed the substance of their talking points.

On Tuesday, for example, Biden tweeted: "We're months into this crisis and workers still don't have enough protective equipment, there still aren't enough tests, and the death toll continues to rise. The President should spend less time congratulating himself and more time doing his job." On Monday, Trump again had mocked Biden at a news conference as "Sleepy Joe." Maybe there isn't much a televised debate can add to that.

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