Sunday, January 20, 2008

Nobody wins in Nevada

By Libby

I've never really been big on the horserace aspect of the primaries so I usually haven't followed the state contests that closely. Of course this year is unusual in many ways, not the least of which I'm no longer a Super Tuesday voter. I finally checked the calendar and discovered that I don't even get to vote until May. I figure it will be all over but the hand clapping by then.

Nonetheless, I'm watching the back and forth over who really won in Nevada on the Democratic side and it looks to me like nobody won anything. If I'm reading the statements from the Nevada party correctly, the delegates aren't locked for either side until they get past the county caucuses.

This might explain why everybody usually ignores Nevada. The results are somewhat meaningless other than a barometer of public opinion at the time of the caucuses - which can easily change in the next round. I'm thinking if we're to learn any lesson from this muddle, it's that our primary system needs a major overhaul. This is not a good way to pick a president and it just brings out the worst in the press.

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