Guardian: Slow road from Iowa to Washington to be replaced by fast-track selection

[pigpickle]

The familiar pattern of US presidential elections is about to change. Instead of the hunt for the Democratic and Republican nominations beginning in Iowa in January and stretching through to the summer, as over the past four decades, many states are in the process of switching dates to hold a mega-primary on February 5, dubbed Super-Duper Tuesday.

With more than 40% of delegates casting their votes, the Democratic and Republican nominations could be wrapped up that day. Norm Ornstein, an analyst at the Washington-based think-tank the American Enterprise Institute, yesterday described it as a "remarkable compression". Like the candidates, the campaign managers and other election observers, he is not sure what the consequences will be in terms of strategy, funding and policy.

A consensus is building in Washington that this mega-primary will mean that smaller, less well-known and poorly financed candidates will not be able to compete. The leisurely, drawn-out campaigns that allowed relatively obscure figures such as Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton to emerge will no longer be possible.

One immediate consequence of Super-Duper Tuesday is the present frenzied search for funding. Mr Ornstein said: "Ultimately money will matter enormously. If you want to be a first-tier candidate you have to have the resources to advertise in the run-up to the Tuesday."



http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2050447,00.html

[arcos]

1. Super-duper Tuesday...

:rofl:

[Hardrada]

2. Only large big box campaigns will matter now.

The Walmartization of American Politics.

[CarbonDate]

3. States are tired....

...of Iowa and New Hampshire deciding the nominees every election. In the last election, my candidate of choice (Clark) had dropped out before I had a chance to vote for him. Dean (whom I ended up voting for) was hanging on for dear life and Edwards was hanging in there to see how many delegates he could get long after it was over.

That said, Kerry wasn't the best-financed or even the most popular candidate when he won Iowa; the early states still have all the power. Being one of the later states sucks.