I personally really resent this early start to the Democratic Nomination race. There are multiple sitting senators involved, and multiple life-or-death causes that could benefit from financial donations and volunteer time in 2007 more than the Democratic nomination. I'm speaking of global warming, anti-war advocacy, etc. By trying to best opponents by beating them to the fund-raising punch, they're depriving their respective constituencies of their time and focus as elected senators, congressmen, and governors and depriving their country the bandwidth to pursue other, very much more pressing, political issues.
How many Democratic senators are taking a stand in the Senate on our country's and planet's gravest issues? Out of the majority, you can count them on your fingers. The silence of those unwilling to take a stand on their recent/upcoming respective campaign stances is deafening. Meanwhile, we have senators Clinton, Dodd, Obama, and Biden staying squeaky clean on these crux-level issues, effectively avoiding their duty to their supporters and ignoring the responsibility requisite to their oath of office.
In the meantime, the DNC and each candidate's campaign is working full-steam on maximizing donations. Much of this money, more than likely over 75% of it, will be wasted on media and various sundries related to those who quit right after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. How much more could we do with that same bulk of funds? Overlooking the trite issues I cite before the jump, this money could fund local grass roots efforts to gather support for the eventual nominee.
Regardless of the glaring fiscal depravity of a 22-month presidential campaign, the time and bandwidth of the media-consuming public is being splurged. My personal tolerance for Hillary and Obama is spent. The novelty of their candidacy is cute, but the substance of their message is being spread too thinly over the prolonged process.
To be fair, playing my own devil's advocate, this does throw a wrench into the gears of the opposition. Any rough edges to the candidates' platforms can be worked out now, prompting the typical exaggerated reaction a year before the primaries start, and dismissed/forgotten/forgiven before the first American casts his/her vote on election day. At the same time, a smart opposition would collect the 'macaca' of the length of the campaign, and run a highlight reel the night before the Iowa caucus.
Jumping back to the topic, I'm taking this as an opportunity to voice my opinion to various candidates by calling their campaign offices. Case in point: I'm sitting at my desk listening to a podcast when I hear the commentators (maybe the goofballs at Slate?) mention that Hillary is calling herself a New Yorker who understands the impact of 9/11. Is she kidding? Her carpet-bagging ass didn't move to NYC until her 2000 campaign made it a requirement. It's not like she's a career hot dog vendor in Central Park. From my angle, 9/11 is to Hillary what Hurricane Katrina is to GWB. 5 and a half years later, we still don't have a memorial, we still don't have a medical community organized behind the impact to the first-responders, and we still have people fighting over benefits promised to families of victims. So I called her NYC campaign office. I call public officials often, usually in response to emails I get from DFA/DNC/MoveOn/etc. When I'm 150th in line, they don't even take my name. I just get a 'thanks'. Hillary's staffer actually took my name and phone number. Maybe I'll be in a campaign ad ;). I'm keeping my ear out for another 9/11 mention. I can picture a whiteboard at Hillary Central with a big red 'x' through "9/11", with "regret war vote" next in line.
What I'm getting at is that this 22-month presidential campaign has negative value in all aspects besides the prolonged duration for voters' opinions to be gathered and/or given. The 'given' part is up to us. Phone numbers are prevalent on campaign websites. Don't fret calling, the staffers are generally pretty open to suggestions that aren't knee-jerky. So don't call to get Snickers ads pulled from the Daytona 500. Call because you want universal health care. Make them earn their nomination, because they're squandering the privilege of their appointment to elected office to support their campaign. They work for us, make them earn their privilege.