This weekend the San Jose Mercury News ran a great op-ed on the problems with the presidential primary system:
We're going to have a de facto national primary. States have been unilaterally moving their primaries earlier with the goal of gaining influence. As a result, more than half the country will have voted by Feb. 5, or "Tsunami Tuesday." The worry is that a national primary favors candidates with Scrooge McDuck bank accounts and removes the door-to-door retail politicking voters in New Hampshire and Iowa love.
We're going to have a de facto national primary - and it won't matter. States all crave political influence the way "American Idol" competitors crave fame - that is, unrealistically. The new crush of primaries on the first Tuesday of February waters down the influence of all the participating states and shifts the focus to the biggest and most delegate-rich among them.
New Hampshire and Iowa still rule.
Check out the whole article here.