A Party with Nothing to Say?

By the usual standards of American politics, the evening was a smashing success. This spring’s fundraising dinner for the Democratic National Committee brought several thousand lobbyists, major donors, and other fixtures of the permanent government to the Washington Hilton. The party committees emerged $2 to $3 million richer. And the only nonmusical part of the program was a brief announcement from Virginia Senator Charles Robb that there would be no speeches.

“That’...