Headlines!

[luna_k]

++ Did everyone catch that Dick Cheney special on PBS's Frontline last night? If you missed it, you can watch it all online. BTW, Lynne Cheney thinks it's a "hit job", so you know it's good. Heh.

++ Newsweek has a heart-wrenching cover story on how few romances have emerged out of the Iraq war.

++ McCain prays for no war with Iran. Me too.

++

Comments

[simons_flower]

++ Iowa Republicans move Caucus up to Jan 3.

++ Here's the Democratic Primary Calender and the Republican Primary Calender for reference. My lame ass state (Virginia) doesn't hold its primary until February 12, or the fourth stage of the race. So my vote is pretty much worthless. *is very bitter about this*

It is utterly ridiculous that states are holding their primaries and caucuses so damn early.  I don't want to vote in December 2007 to nominate someone for a race nearly a year later.

More and more I agree with the election reform people who want to change the national primary system to regional primaries.  The best one I heard was to still let Iowa and New Hampshire go first, but then divide the country into four regions.  Each region votes on a particular Tuesday (like two weeks apart or something).  Every four years, the order of voting rotates so if it was East - South - Midwest - West in 2008, then in 2012 it would be South - Midwest - West - East.  That seems much more fair and certainly easier on the candidates.

And make the primaries in May.

BTW, after looking at the calendars, Pennsylvania doesn't have their primary until April 22.  Somehow, I think it won't matter unless the race is much more contentious than it usually becomes by that point.  I, for one, would love to have an undecided race right through the convention.

[jerrymcl89]

There should be an initial primary, maybe around February or March, featuring one smaller state from each region (say, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, although which states are in the initial primary should rotate as well), then the rotating regional primaries every few weeks. I think that would be fairest.

[simons_flower]

Another proposal I heard which would also be fair, I think, is to have states vote by the number of electoral votes they have.  Therefore, states with the fewest would vote first and California would vote last.

[luna_k]

It is utterly ridiculous that states are holding their primaries and caucuses so damn early. I don't want to vote in December 2007 to nominate someone for a race nearly a year later.

God, seriously. I like your suggestion of primaries in May - that certainly makes a lot more sense than having primaries in freaking January.

Having rotation regions sounds like a good idea too.