That McCain emerged as the last man standing in a crowded field of twelve Republican hopefuls is a study in perseverance. Eight months ago his campaign was in shambles and his chances slim.

Perseverance, in fact, is the one virtue shared by all the three presidential finalists as each has had to overcome daunting obstacles to reach this momentous point in political history.

Sen. Obama's surprising run of 11 primary victories leading up to week's "Super Tuesday II," left the Clinton camp scrambling for survival strategies.

Voters in the key states of Texas and Ohio gave the nod to Clinton and infused her campaign with a second life.

The next big contest - "Super Tuesday III," the Pennsylvania primary - will take place on April 22nd.

For the next six weeks, Clinton and Obama will lay siege to the Keystone State. The take-no-prisoners quest to win Pennsylvania's delegates will likely not settle the nomination. The final selection will play out at the Democratic National Convention in late August.

Strangely, in a nation that prides itself in free and open elections, the Democratic presidential nominee will likely be chosen by a few hundred "superdelegates" at the convention.

In yet another odd headline-grabbing twist to this process, the delegates from Michigan and Florida are excluded from participating in the convention because primaries in those states were not sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee.

Add to this the intrigue surrounding top Hillary Clinton advisor, Harold Ickes. Ickes is the party insider who voted earlier to exclude Michigan and Florida delegates and now seeks a way to re-engage them since his candidate won in the primaries.

If the party can't come up with a palatable solution to settle the Michigan and Florida question, the convention will be the first since 1956 recognizing delegates from only 48 states.

The media's fixation on Obama, Clinton and the delegate sideshow comes at a cost in terms of exposure for McCain. McCain's virtual lock on the GOP presidential nomination leaves no reciprocating drama on the Republican side.

Thus, McCain's fund-raising success lags far behind the record-breaking pace being sustained by Obama and Clinton. The bulk of their campaign war chests will be spent combating each other.

In the interim, the Senator from Arizona is hard at work honing his message and expanding his base of support by courting independents, disenfranchised Republicans, Hispanics and Democrats seeking a third choice.

With roughly seven months remaining in the election, McCain's time to truly command the limelight will begin in September when his strengths and weaknesses will be matched against the battle-hardened survivor of the Democratic National Convention.