Going virtual is the new political reality

THERE was a time, not long ago, when presidential nominating conventions actually determined whom the Democrats and the Republicans would select as their candidates for the highest political office in the land.

It may surprise some young readers, but for a long time, until the 1950s, party activists and voters did not know until the last hours of the convention who would be the man (there were of course no women running for the presidency then) who would attempt to lead them to victory in November.

For four days in the summer, more than 3,000 delegates would convene in a major American city, as several candidates who had won large blocs of delegates during the earlier primaries, readied themselves for bruising fights during which one of them, after hours of lobbying and a lot of back-room deals, would emerge with the largest number of delegates behind his candidacy.