As you’ll read in Marsha Mercer’s column at our left today, there are few surprises that come out of political conventions, despite the money spent, the hoopla and hype, the crush of media trying to find the story to which no one else can possibly do justice in the midst of it all.

You may have no interest in the conventions, having heard for so long that they are little more than an exercise in ego for the party faithful (and the respective party monied) and a chance for, to put it in words we can all understand, the party to have a party. (And invite the media.)

But if you do nothing else during this almost two weeks of what last week we called “America’s Olympics” (with credit to NBC News), at the very least avail yourselves of the opportunity to hear the respective candidates accept the respective party nominations for president of the United States.

Forget the commercials. Put the gossip, innuendoes about names and religions and tax plans out of your mind. Let the mutual give-and-take-a-potshot pass over you like so much water over the rocks of the Chattooga. Just listen. Hear what they say when they are, in a sense, in your living rooms and talking just to you.

The speeches by Barack Obama and John McCain will be carefully crafted and designed to spark patriotism and trust, even in the conspiracy-minded among us. But don’t assume they are contrived. This is one time when they will speak, not just of what they hope to do for the country, but for what they believe we should be able to do ourselves. And perhaps what in their hearts they believe a country owes its people.

There have been stirring speeches in the past. Democrat John F. Kennedy gave us not just an acceptance speech but a challenge: “The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. ...” Ronald Reagan accepted the Republican nomination with these words: “Some say that (it) no longer exists. But I have seen it — I have felt it — all across the land; in the big cities, the small towns and in rural America. The American spirit is still there, ready to blaze into life if you and I are willing to do what has to be done. …”

Obama’s speech tonight will likely echo speeches of the past, and not just his own, the one that brought him to the nation’s attention in 2004, just four short years ago. Obama’s acceptance of his party’s nomination comes on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Dream” speech in Washington. Forty-five years after King spoke of his children being recognized for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, Obama will take the stage and present tangible hope that King’s dream hasn’t died.

But don’t think of race tonight, or the exploits of a man who suffered terribly in a war next week when McCain takes the stage in St. Paul, Minn. Think of simply a human being who believes he is best for our country and that he can make us proud, not just for electing him but for supporting his efforts even if he disappoints.

For he surely will, no matter who we decide will occupy the Oval Office. They are, after all, merely men. Smart men, to be sure. Savvy in the ways of the political world in which they live. Learned men, both of books and of life. And men who have families, just like you do. Men who have known sadness, just as you have. Ordinary men — and extraordinary as well — who are asking for our permission to demonstrate what they can do.

Give them a chance to tell you why they can lead this nation and why they should be allowed to do so. Then decide, not based upon the millions spent to convince you of their worth but by the message of a single man.

Then there will be only one question you need ask yourself: Is this a man in whom I can believe?