WOW! This election cycle continues to be the most exciting in, well, forever, for both parties.

John McCain got his groove back and won all three primaries: Maryland, Virginia, and DC. He has the nomination pretty well locked up. Even if Huckabee wins all the remaining primaries, he'll reach barely half the number of delegates that McCain has right now. It will be interesting to see if Huckabee continues his quixotic campaign for much longer. While he has no chance in hell of getting the nomination, he could wield a lot of power in St. Paul. He could theoretically prevent McCain from winning the 1,191 delegates needed to win.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama continues his winning streak, taking all three primaries tonight. This time, he defeated Hillary by impressive margins. He received 75% of the vote in DC, 60% in Maryland, and 64% in Virginia, not the slim margins we've seen in the past. Hillary has so much as written off Wisconsin, and is devoting all her attention to Texas and Ohio, which she says she "must win."

While it's not looking good for Hillary right now, the truth is it's not likely either candidate will get the required delegates to win the nomination, even if he/she wins every single remaining primary. So, that means a lot of back room maneuvering to settle the nomination.

In the old days, the political conventions were filled with drama. Many times, it wasn't certain who would get the nomination when the convention opened. There was plenty of arm twisting and politicking in the "smoke filled rooms." That all ended with the rise in influence of the primary system in the last 30 years. The conventions became boring over-produced extravaganzas, kind of like a bad Super Bowl halftime show. Nothing more than a glitzy coronation for a nominee who is known well in advance.

I'm looking forward to following both conventions this year. It's virtually guaranteed that both will be filled with lots of drama and intrigue.