For the crowning event of Donald Trump’s take-over of the GOP, the convention has been notably light on Trumpism, as I note in my Politico column today.

The case for Trump has been based more on Hillary’s unacceptability and on his personal decency in private than on his core of immigration restriction, protectionism, and non-interventionism.

The substantive argument from Republican officeholders is that Trump is more likely to sign traditional Republican initiatives than Hillary is, rather than a defense of Trump’s particular pre-occupations. If Trump is going to win, though, it will be as a different kind of Republican. Maybe he is so different that this goes without saying, but the imperatives of trying to unify the party and rehabilitate his character have crowded out any sustained attempt to accent his distinctiveness and try to put it in the best possible light.

Another, related missing element has been any concerted effort to make the case for how the Trump GOP will aid ordinary people, a key oversight given the populism that has fueled Trump’s rise and give his electoral strategy will likely depend on connecting with working-class voters throughout the Midwest. We can probably safely assume that there will be a parade of ordinary people at the Democratic convention, showcased as alleged beneficiaries of various specific Democratic policies (as well as ordinary people who will tell of how they were victimized by Trump business practices).

All of this puts even more pressure on Trump’s speech tonight. I agree with the conventional wisdom that a exceptional speech will wipe away most of the memories of the awkwardness of this week. And I except Trump to exceed expectations. I will be very surprised if it isn’t the best teleprompter speech he’s ever given. To materially increase his odds of winning the presidency, though, the speech has to transform how people view him and his fitness for office, a tall order, but not an impossible one.