Friday digest-open thread 1/4/08

The presidential campaign of 2008 has already been under way for a year, but voters are finally having their say. (Or at least some of them: The New York Times had a good article earlier this week on how the Iowa Caucus - often praised as the ultimate in direct democracy - actually excludes many Iowans since there's no provision for absentee voting.) Now it's on to high-profile contests in New Hampshire next Tuesday, South Carolina on January 15, Nevada on January 19, and "Super Tsunami Tuesday," when 21 states vote on February 5. By that point at the latest, we will likely know who is going to be locked in the longest and most expensive general election campaign in U.S. history.

Is this any way to pick a president? The National Association of Secretaries of State is promoting a major reform to the presidential primary system starting in 2012. Under the NASS plan, Iowa and New Hampshire would retain their early status, but every other state would primary or caucus under a system of rotating regional primaries held the first Tuesday of March, April, May, and June. That way, the general election season would be pushed back to its traditional start at the quadrennial party conventions, and a system now drowning in big money and media might return to some semblance of sanity.

Reform aside, the big headline out of the Iowa Caucus was how a record turnout of Democrats - bolstered by Independents and a few Republicans - chose an African-American man, Barack Obama, as their favorite. Many reporters are noting that it's interesting and hopeful to see such a result in a state that is 95 percent white; other commentators - including Christopher Caldwell in The Financial Times and Andrew Sullivan in The Atlantic Monthly - suggest that race is less a factor in Obama's chances than a generational shift. At his blog, Peter Levine writes how the Iowa results may signal a landmark year for youth civic engagement as well as a rise in a civil, deliberative style of campaigning.

In other news, check out the Study Circles Resource Center website for new stories of sustainable government in New Hampshire and sustainable employment in Wisconsin.

Comments

[Nick Connell]

This is the first time I've ever been excited about the election process. And even more, I actually like some candidates - really like them. And also, I feel like there are already and will be so many conversations (hopefully, productive conversations) occurring about some crucial issues to our country: racial equity and youth civic engagement - among all the other important issues: the economy, the war in Iraq, sustainable living, education, and so on. I hope this is a landmark year for citizens getting more involved, beyond just voting, in shaping daily community life in their neighborhoods and towns and cities - effecting everyday democracy.