There is a solution to the Florida and Michigan dilemma that preserves the rules, keeps down costs, and is fair both to the people who voted in January and to those who didn't.
That is to use the January "results" to choose 50 percent of the delegates, and to choose the other fifty percent in less-expensive caucuses. No one will be "disenfranchised," the rules will get their due, and (most important) the issue will be defused.
Who will pay for the caucuses? There are several viable choices.
- The DNC: Wake up, Howard Dean: the general election won't mean much if this issue isn't dealt with.
- The two campaigns jointly: Barack should propose this, and dare Hillary to decline.
- The state parties: it might seem that they should pay, but remember that (particularly in Florida) the local Democrats did what they could to keep the party out of this Republican trap.