Why is there so much time between the primaries and the general election?

[tridim]

I'm guessing it's an old rule from a time when it was very difficult for the candidates to travel across the country for a national campaign. With air travel and TV, the long time span isn't really necessary any longer and ends up just costing too much money. I think a month between the primary and the general is plenty of time to wage a national campaign and have several debates.

Maybe I'm just anxious because I think Bush needs to leave the Whitehouse ASAP (Now isn't soon enough), but in fact I think a quick campaign would have huge benefits and little drawback. At the very least it would cut out alot of the bullshit campaign babble and encourage substance.

[CharlesGroce]

1. Maybe you're nervous that things might start to turn around for Bush...

After all, there is still plenty of time for the media to turn around and be extremely pro-Bush and bash Kerry as a man who takes all stances, right and wrong, on every issue: and you know they'd be right.

Doesn't make me nervous because I think I know how this story ends already.

[napi21]

2. I do think the election process is too long, but until there's a

cap put on campaigns, they'll keep getting longer, and more expensive!

I'm all for a limit of 6 months from start to finish! Primaries and General included.

Of course, how would you stop the encumbant from campaigning from day one like Shrub did?

[KamaAina]

3. Because Terry Mac wanted it that way

As hard as it may be to believe, the Democratic primary season is still not over. As a matter of fact, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon are voting today. The last two states to vote will be Montana and New Jersey, on June 8.

http://www.vote-smart.org/election_president_state_primary_dates.php

For all practical purposes, the primaries are over because Terry Mac wanted to "front-load" the process, to head off any insurgent candidacy. Thus, many states, notably the "Super Tuesday" Southern states, moved their primaries forward.

Howard Dean almost outflanked this strategy by building up unprecedented support before the primaries, but then the negative media spin started to kick in...

[No2W2004]

4. You're partly right

Before mass media made it possible for canidates to be in all 50 states at the same time, The canidates were campaigning all the way up to and while at the convention. Most of the time, if there wasn't an incumbancy, the parties nominee wasn't decided until deals were made in the back rooms to shift deligates from one canidate to another.

Now, the conventions nothing more than a party rally for the nominee who was decided on months before.

[Yupster]

5. It's a very new rule

This year the primaries were very front-loaded. That is not the way it's always been.

In the past the biggest primary, California, which would often decide the race was in June.

The arty decided it needed to be over quicker, so they squeezed the schedule into Fedruary -March.

Personally I liked it better the other way.