WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT´S BEEN - TOP TEN REASONS WHY WE LOVE THE ENDLESS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

Article by June and Rodger Caldwell.

Photo by June Caldwell from what seems like an eternity ago, the California Democratic Convention, April 2007, one of the first appearances of all the Democratic Candidates together in California.

At the time of the writing of this article, the Democratic primary is still going - like that pink energizer bunny - with no clear end in sight. As we get closer to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, we know the primary has to end, maybe even soon. So let's take a minute to enjoy the ride!

1)Now it is obvious that all states should have their primary elections on the same day.

Like the movie Groundhog Day, when Bill Murray kept waking up repeatedly to find it is Groundhog Day, we keep waking up to find it is ´Super Tuesday´ with yet another state´s primary. Even Florida and Michigan´s crime they are being punished for is simply wanting their state's primary to be early enough to have their voters count. The general elections are on the same day for every state, there is no logical reason why the primary elections shouldn´t be the same. Which leads us to the second reason:

2) All - or almost all - states will have a voice in the primary election.

As much as we want this primary to move on, it just sits uneasily when we hear the arguments that it is just ´too expensive´ and ´too divisive´ for all the states to participate in the primary election. Either we are in a democracy or we aren´t! In a democracy, every citizens´ vote should be equal: period. Bringing us to the third reason:

3)The public now is aware of, and saying "whats up with that?!" about super delegates.

My dentist put it succinctly when I was in a position to only nod silently in agreement. She said she never knew things worked like this, and it really sucks that a few non-elected people can decide who gets to run for the most important – and supposed elected – position in our country.

4)The Republican green slime machine doesn´t know who to aim for!

The Republicans can´t attack one candidate until they know who the candidate will be. Imagine if they had been attacking the winning nominee for months by now! Instead they have to either wait patiently, or divide their resources on both candidates. They will only have a limited window to stage their attack.

5)This long primary gives the election time to build a TV fanbase.

Let´s look at the Presidential election like a sitcom. Hardly anyone watched Seinfeld or even Cheers in their first seasons! But the networks gave them a chance and more viewers got to get in the habit of tuning in. The most recent April 2008 debate on ABC was second only to American Idol in it´s timeslot! Which brings us to that particular debate which was notable because:

6)The major networks had a chance to officially ´jump the shark´ and nail their own coffins as totally irrelevant sources of information with the ´flag pin´ debate on ABC.

With the most important Presidency in a long time at stake, the ABC news commentators exposed themselves as the irrelevant buffoons they are for focusing on annoying trivia like does Barack Obama wear a flag pin for most of the debate. In case anyone was actually relying on these TV stations for their news, now clearly they can join the rest of us and get information on the Internet and other alternative sources. And the real important issues discussed on alternative news sources are getting much more attention because:

7)This long primary gives the Democrats a chance to control the issues discussed in our country.

For the first time in recent history, the Democrat issues are the issues we all care about and that make it to the water cooler. Instead of the Republican spin that we don´t need universal health care, it is which universal health care plan is better. Instead of believing we should be in Iraq for 100 years, it is whose plan to get us out right away is better. Instead of trying to pretend global warming doesn´t exits, it is who is doing the best to help solve it. Instead of pretending that our economy is great, it is who can do the best to fix it.

8)America gets a chance to become familiar with the Democratic candidates as well as the Democratic issues.

People will be more likely to come out to vote for someone they feel they understand and know.

9)The candidates that were voted off the Island get to face their remaining two and become part of the process through the endorsement and super delegate process.

Just like on Survivor, the remaining two candidates have to go back and face the other candidates hoping for their endorsements, as they sit in the tribal council.

10)Clintobama is just plain more entertaining than anything else going right now.

After the long months of the writers strike, TV is parched and dry. No game show or sparsely written sitcom, or overpaid sports competitions can come close to the real life drama of the final two competitors for what could be the most important Presidential election in our lifetimes.