Now that the confetti has been swept away, all the balloons popped, and the St. Paul cops are stowing their riot gear, it's time to recall the surprisingly eventful Republican National Convention in Minnesota. Is it really only one week ago today that Senator John McCain pulled a rabbit out of his hat and introduced little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate? She's not little-known anymore. In fact, the 2008 Republican Convention is forever more to be remembered for her ascent, whatever her future portends.

Here's some other thoughts from the TV coverage of the RNC:

Media matters
Having the two political conventions back to back was a plus for the TV pros. All the mistakes from Denver were rectified in St. Paul. The MSNBC set ups avoided train stations and noise interruptions. Splitting up Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews worked better, with Olbermann as the point man throwing the coverage to the other news pros. And there was less bickering and fighting, at least compared to the week before.

In case you missed it, Jon made a very special appearance on The Colbert Report Tuesday night. The situation is already a bit confusing, and Jon's explanation of it didn't help much. Actually, don't even think about it too much. Just focus on the fact that Jon is a very tiny man. What he lacks in height, he makes up with well-played self-deprecation.

"Indecision 2008": Big news! John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani have both dropped from the race. Edwards fixed up his hair and delivered a speech to say good-bye and Giuliani, accompanied by his supporters and funny eyebrows, dropped out in Florida. He also got an earful from the media for putting all his eggs in the Florida basket, whatever that means.