Fortunately, no one was

desparate enough to schedule a 2008 presidential primary or caucus in 2007. As

it is, the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus will be just three nights past New

Year’s Eve, making the first results of the 2008 election process known before

the NCAA national football champion. The Democratic and Republican nominees

probably will be settled upon nine days before Valentine’s Day, or just about

1,700 hours away.

What was Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger thinking when he moved up the June 3 primary to Feb. 5? Like

most politicians, he assumed California would become a kingpin in the crazy

nomination process. However, most of the other 49 states became afraid of

behemouth California and either moved their primaries and caucuses ahead of

California’s or to the same first Tuesday in February. Unless there are more

adjustments, 34 states will hold primaries or caucuses on or before Feb. 5,

with 10 states having them even earlier — beginning with Iowa Jan. 3, Wyoming

Republicans Jan. 5 and New Hampshire Jan. 8.

Everything is fast-forward,

leaving candidates with less time to raise campaign money, to debate the

issues, to meet the voters and to sling mud at their opponents. And it leaves

voters with less time to choose the right candidate. After Feb. 5, there will

be a lull of eight months before the fall campaign. In our instantaneous world,

that seems like a lifetime for critical issues that come and go. Will voters

become to doubt that they selected the right candidate way back when?

Before we are forced to

participate in such a farce in 2012, the Republican and Democratic national

committees should consider establishing primaries regionally the first Tuesday

of February, March, April and May. The regions would rotatet every presidential

election year, so California would be at the front of the pack every 16 years.

Likewise, our state would be at the back of the line every 16 years.

Less of the candidates’ time

would be wasted flying from one end of the country to the other, and less of

the candidates’ money would be wasted on national advertising before the fall

campaign. The candidates could hone their primary campaigns to specific

regional issues each month. And the national media would have less influence on

selling the flavor-of-the-week candidate. This would make the presidential race

a Quadruple Crown rather than a sprint.