Primary Color...

I'm half listening to CNN fawning over the results of the New Hampshire primary. A comment Becca made on the phone last night points out a fundamental flaw in the primary system:

"You know, I heard that Washington's primary doesn't count, that it's all decided before the Washington primary."

She's half right. Democratic leadership has said that the nomination will be tied up by March 10, when 71% of the delegates will be assigned. Problem is, that is before 14 states hold their primaries. Washington holds its primary on March 2, so, Becca, your primary vote still "counts," but the following states might as well save money and forget about even holding primaries, as the nomination will essentially be locked up weeks--sometimes months--before their polls even open:

Illinois
Pennsylvania
Indiana
North Carolina
Nebraska
West Virginia
Wyoming
Arkansas
Kentucky
Oregon
Alabama
South Dakota
Montana
New Jersey

The staggered primary calendar allows candidates to campaign all over the country. However, the fundamental flaw is that there are states that must go last. When nominating conventions actually nominated a candidate rather than functioning as a kick-ass victory party and kickoff to the general election campaign, this was not as much of a problem. But now that the convention is a formality, it disenfranchises some of the states.

Conversely, going first is not necessarily a big bonus. Those voters get a lot of attention, but if new information comes to light now, the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire have locked their votes.