I still wish that Biden, Dodd and Richardson stayed

until Feb. 6th.

If the Republicans are holding tough, and they have less money, why can't ours?

This just shows how all the rush forward was for naught.

Iowa and New Hampshire still call the shots.

We need a different primary system.

I am not even sure about the rotating regional one, since Iowa and NH are "promised" that they would still be first.

I like the idea - heard on NPR some months ago - of starting with a group of smalls states of total 8 electoral votes, I think. Then, a month later, another group of states with a total of 16 electoral votes, and then another group with 32, etc.

Or, as alternative, have IA, NH, SC, and NV all in one day.

because they realized that they were never going to get any media coverage, hence their message would never get to the masses.

That's the reality. Second tier candidates, despite how good they were, wwere limited by finds, and for the media to exclude them from free coverage simply killed their campaigns.

I would love the sweet justice of Biden writing legislation to force the media to cover ALL candidates, with minimum time requirements, when they fix election reform. That would be 'revenge best tasted cold'.

Clarence Thomas vote and his Delaware credit card industry votes. His foreign policy experience and international respect are impressive.

Thought he voted against?
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00220

did he vote yes on judiciary committee?

So did most Dems. I think they got scared off on the racism charges by Republicans,

that Clinton was way ahead on experience that she benefited from Biden's leaving.

I agree the system is F'd up. But the fact is that primaries are left to each state's discretion. It's not the subject of a federal mandate. So each state can do whatever it wants. And the traditional early states like to stay first for the national attention, which of course really means dollars. All the media that come in and eat in restaurants and stay at hotels. All the tourists who see NH on television and think they may want to visit. It's really nothing more than a way to get free advertising for the state and get in some needed dollars.

So I don't think NH will easily give up its grip any time soon.

This stuff is under the control of the parties, not in our constitution. Is there a group within the Democratic party working on these reform issues? Other than slapping Michigan and Florida's hands?

The whole Iowa & NH stuff is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Some traditions that do not serve us need to go...voting on Tuesday, primary/caucus system....

And some new obsessions need a reality check...obsessive polling...insisting we know the winner of a race within minutes after it's finished rather than waiting for complete results (how quickly did we know Jefferson or Madison or Lincoln or ... won?)...perpetual media spin.

I like voting on a weekday. People are already out and about. Whereas on weekends, people sleep in, watch tv, play with the kids. I bet there would be worse turnout with weekend voting.

I agree on the timing of results. The winner is the winner, whether we know it at 9 pm or at 10 a.m. the next day. It's all about the networks trying to get ratings and stay relevant by being first.

Some traditions don't take long to get entrenched. And in NH, it's state law that they have to be first. Hence the constant backing up of the date. Soon we'll be having primaries in the Fall of the previous year and spend a full year in the general election. So retarded.

I would prefer all primaries occuring no earlier than March. Wrap them up by May or June. Have the convention in July. Then spend three months in election mode.

True... I've wondered about having a holiday for voting day. Or half-day holiday or something (so people aren't tempted to travel!)

You make it a 3-day weekend and people will go out of town.

I don't know how to get more people to vote. Only about 40% of the country votes! Amazing there can be that many people who simply don't care what kind of government they live under. Or maybe it's a reflection that the parties have become more and more like one another and people feel like it makes no grand difference in their lives.

Make them feel like they really are part of the process...Most people don't believe they can make a difference. Most people think the process is fixed. I guess I can understand that.

Make them feel like their vote matters.

And why do we have to pick the nominee 9 months before the election? Something (economy, foreign affairs) might dramatically change between now and then.

2 year campaigns for a 4-year position? If we keep this up, it'll have to be a contest of billionaire, not just millionaire, candidates. The media, meanwhile, is loving the ad money and viewership/sales.

GOP will get to narrow down to their nominee after ours is (for all practical purposes) settled. Not sure it matters with their crop of candidates this year, but it might.

nm

but I think that putting a system in place that is truly publicly funded would help. I don't ever see that happening in my lifetime though.

decisions.

In that case, ABC decided who our "real" candidates are. Shameful.

Biden had already chartered a jet for NH. They both could have lasted a few more days, but exclusion from the debates made it a fruitless effort.

yet, we have not heard an explanation as to why....not that we really need it, we know why.

So those arbitary 5%/10%/15% cutoffs still let GOP candidates in?

and here is how they finished in Iowa;

Huckabee 34%
Romney 25%
Thompson 13%
McCain 13%
Paul 10% 0
Giuliani 3% 0
Hunter 0%


And it was well advertised that only the top four, or those coming out of Iowa, with 15% or better, on the democratic side, would be the only ones participating in the debates. So, by their own rules, Giuliani, and Paul shouldn't have been allowed.

They had to meet one of three criteria:

1. A top four finish in Iowa.
2. Poll with at least 5% in any of the four most recent New Hampshire Polls.
3. Poll with at least 5% in any of the four most recent National Polls.

as I said, the ORIGINAL rules, have disappeared from the internet. The original rules stated 15%, not 5%.

Who excluded them? I hadn't heard that, so I was wondering why they didn't hang on until the NH primary. That debate format would have been great for Biden, and perhaps he would have done well in NH. We'll never know.

they dropped out before the debate, but otherwise it would have meant DK, MG, JB, and CD were excluded.

Can you imagine if the rule had been "top 6 finishers in Iowa". I mean, if the argument was the number of chairs or something, we know they had at least six.

I just don't get it.

Unlike some candidates...

what happened to Biden. I'm not sure that I will ever get over it and I certainly won't forget. We had the chance to put into office the most qualified and experienced candidate on either side and we blew it.

The media is dictating to us. And not just in politics.

It's a shame, a crying shame.

We are now seeing the remaining candidates fumble around on international issues, fighting with each other, further dividing the Democratic Party, plagiarizing Biden's words and trying to create an phenomenon with no substance.

I suppose we get the leaders that we deserve.

-Paige

After all of the Months of Debates and Tv interviews etc, These guys, by dropping out so early, are proving that the Media and Corporate-World OWNS our election process

Bad move boys!
Don't ever Pretend to Run anything Again.