Democracy intervenes in the Democratic Primaries thanks to Howard Dean

A Fine Mess

By MARC AMBINDER
Published: February 7, 2008

EVERY four years, Washington moans about the way the national political parties select their presidential nominees. But the grumbling about the 2008 contest has struck an unusual note. Instead of complaining about a process that is too short, some now mutter that the process is too drawn out. Instead of being too predictable, the campaign is too confusing and uncertain: no one has any idea what will happen next. Is this any way to pick a president?

Actually, yes: the Democrats in particular appear to have stumbled — partly by design and partly by chance — into a primary calendar that fixes many of the problems with the way the party has chosen its presidential candidates in the past. Sure, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have run extraordinary campaigns. But the framework of the calendar has enriched the competition between them.

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Once more, democracy has interfered with the plan. Had Michigan remained on Feb. 9 and Florida on March 4, their influence would have been considerable. Instead, their haste to go first wound up lessening their influence, rather than giving them a louder voice.

Now, an array of new states and their tens of millions of voters will find their interests well represented in this campaign: Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio and maybe even Pennsylvania, whose voters go to the polls on April 22.

Democrats in the larger states are loath to admit it, but the secret to a well-vetted nominee is a diverse gantlet of small states followed by a national primary — which is exactly what is happening this year. Smaller states help neutralize the advantages conferred by money-raising and name identification. In such a setting, the better candidates tend to rise to the top. (Of course, this logic holds for any small state, not just Iowa or New Hampshire.)

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Despite these flaws, the system drawn up by Mr. Dean and his commission is serving the Democrats well. By the time the nomination is finally won, a majority of the party’s primary voters will have had the chance to ratify, or reject, the decisions made by voters in early states.