Hi. Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. I’m Lisa Lerer, your host. As my colleague Astead Herndon put it today: Is it still a convention if no one convenes? For decades, the national party conventions have been a place where political careers can be launched — or laughed off…

Hi. Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. I’m Lisa Lerer, your host. When it comes to the vice presidency, Joe Biden has a perfect candidate in mind: himself. Well, if he were Josephine R. Biden Jr., of course. In comments about his search for a running mate, Mr. Biden…

Hi. Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. I’m Lisa Lerer, your host. At 8:30 this morning, the Commerce Department announced a record economic decline during the second quarter of this year — a drop that was stunning in its severity and breath. Sixteen minutes later, President Trump tweeted. No,…