Bob Franken

For the election geeks who are waiting for this year’s campaign October surprise, give it up. Another tradition bites the dust.

For those who don’t eat, sleep and breathe politics, first of all, congratulations — and in case you need it, an explanation: The October surprise was the predictable startling development or scandal, timed by one side or the other to explode into public view in the last days before the election. It would dominate the headlines and be all that the voters would be thinking of as they headed to the polls.

Unfortunately, the October surprise may have become obsolete. Sur...