not so super tuesday
by Josh Sarpen
Published: February 6, 2008
It appears like the Super Tuesday returns could not have been scripted better, with pockets of support emerging on both the Democratic and Republican sides translating into scattered victories instead of one clinching evening for a pre-ordained frontrunner. This acknowledged, there are also serious detriments to the scheduling of Super Tuesday. Namely, the frontloaded primary calendar has condensed the candidate evaluation process to just a few weeks.
The nomination process has always had a Super Tuesday, one day when many states held primaries and/or caucuses that often crowned one winner and eliminated the also-rans. In an effort to bring more people into the nomination process, many states moved their primaries earlier than in years past, with many states choosing Super Tuesday as their date in order to avoid party sanctions by getting too close to the beloved (and often wrong) Iowa caucus. Never before has the nomination process been so reliant on one day’s activities, and the candidates are feeling the heat.
The primary pressure is caused by the fact that there isn’t enough time or money to make these candidates visible and viable in all 20 plus states that hold contests the same day. Competing in California requires buying airtime in two of the top five media markets, as it does in New Jersey. If a candidate wanted to be active in all Super Tuesday states, they’d have to invest in seven of the top 10 media markets, which is cost prohibitive, even at the rate that local stations are required to sell political ad time. John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani can both attest to the fact that this year’s nomination process can bankrupt even sure-footed candidates.
One of the results is that very few candidates can even participate in the process, limiting the political discourse. Voters get to be a part of the nomination process - however, they lose out on the individualized time they spend with a candidate (no airline flies from Boston to Birmingham direct). Voter education doesn’t come mainly from the candidates themselves or even their endorsed political ads, but rather from the amount of free media they can generate, as well as the attention created by celebrities (enter Bill and Oprah), who aren’t spreading their candidate’s message as much as smiling and signing autographs.
We ought to readjust the calendar back to the way it was and have parties mandate the number of contests that can happen in one day (if not one week). A rotating primary process would be even better, so that every state has the chance to be an early decider at some point. The result will be improved evaluation of candidates and as a result, a better presidential choice.
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