Caught the season finale of "The West Wing" last night, one of only 2 shows that I absolutely have to watch when they're on.

It got me to thinking, convention politics these days is so sanitized. The networks know this, and they've cut back their convention coverage to like 2 hours in prime time. The balloting is always a mere formality. In fact, I think every event outside the New Hampshire primaries and the Iowa caucuses has turned into pretty much a formality. Was Super Tuesday even a factor in 2000 or 2004?

Then again, a brokered convention makes a party look like they're in complete and utter disarray. But oh, those ratings!

Meanwhile, the Sox pull off an April 2004-like comeback in April 2005. The debate over smallball vs longball rages...