Thursday, January 03, 2008

IOWA CAUCUSES! NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY! WHO CARES!?!

Really, I have no animus toward the good people of Iowa or New Hampshire, but I have to say that the breathless anticipation of their selection process is beginning to peg the annoyance meter.

All of the candidates spend enormous amounts of money, descend upon these states like Apache helicopters on a al Qaeda keg party and the media reads the results as though it were the Dead Sea Scrolls.

These are two small states population-wise (IA #30 and NH #41) and neither is particularly representative of the nation as a whole. In fact there really isn't ANY state that could accurately be called representative of the nation.

The point seems to be to win these (too) early states and build some sort of air of inevitability, but how often does that really happen? There have been losers to win in Iowa and/or New Hampshire and former presidents who have lost one or both.

I know that someone has to be first and these two states are kicking off the primary season, but a little perspective may be in order. I also know that this little kabuki dance in Iowa and New Hampshire is a political tradition in presidential election years, but I think that it's overwrought in the extreme.

No comments: