What's up with the Bush administration's GOP platform hijinks?

Robert Novak has concluded that the GOP Convention platform committee will in essence have no work to do -- that the Bush administration will present to them a draft platform, with a mere two days to adopt it. This breaks with decades of precedent that gives the platform committee wide latitude to come up with planks which are important to the party rank and file, but which may not be in total harmony with the standard-bearer's (in this case, Bush's) views:

For more than a quarter of a century, Republican platforms have been forged in an intense debate, often against the presidential candidate's wishes. The pattern was set in 1976, when Sen. Jesse Helms led Reagan forces against President Gerald Ford. In 1984, when Ronald Reagan was seeking re-election, then House Republican Whip Trent Lott as platform chairman resisted White House efforts to equivocate on taxes and abortion. In 1996, Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois threatened to resign as chairman if candidate Bob Dole interfered.

Novak says that the Democrats' platform was also predetermined this year, but at least they went through the charade of a traditional debate.

What is the difference between a prewritten party platform adopted without meaningful debate saying "The Republican Party believes [insert Bush administration opinion here]", and a politician who knows nothing but his own agenda going on a Sunday morning talk show and saying "The American people believe [insert politician's pet issue here]"?

If what Novak says about the GOP platform is true, shame on the Bush administration for its heavyhanded tactics. If someone out there has a spin that they can put on this that will make it look better, I'm all ears.

UPDATE: Before anyone says it, I realize that the party platforms of both parties have little relevance to Real Life, and that as such the specifics of the platform don't really matter. Perhaps this is just another instance of the Bush administration controlling the message -- they don't want an off-the-reservation platform committee giving the Dems (and their buddies in the media) any talking points. I can see this from a strategery point of view. However, a party ought to espouse a set of core principles that will survive long after the current candidate has moved on to other things. Is it really up to the candidate to tell the party what those principles are?