Ron Klain: In Praise of the Primary Slog

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: June 9, 2008
In Praise of the Primary Slog
By Ron Klain

....I find the three most repeated criticisms of the Democratic Party’s primary process to be off base, and that some of these supposedly negative factors were actually strengths.

1. Did the primary campaign take too long?

As the contest dragged on, countless observers grew tired, anxious and impatient. But did the Democrats do themselves a disservice with such a long contest? I think not.

While John McCain struggled for attention, the longer contest kept the Democratic candidates and their ideas in the press. While not all of that attention on the Democrats was positive, the negative coverage involved matters that were bound to erupt sooner or later and were better handled in the more benign confines of a primary contest.

Moreover, the alternative to a long primary season is a longer general election season. In 2000 and 2004, some of the greatest damage was done to the Democratic nominees in the period immediately after the nomination was won, but before they were ready for the fall campaign. The bottom line is that because of the five-month marathon of caucuses and primaries, Barack Obama is a stronger candidate, better prepared for the fall, and more equipped to defeat Mr. McCain than he would have been had he secured the nomination in February.

2. Did the calendar — the ordering of the state contests — make sense?....

...(T)he Democratic calendar in 2008 was probably the most intelligently ordered of any in recent times. The presence of South Carolina early on gave African-American voters a powerful voice in a process that had previously been criticized for excluding their participation; Nevada as an early state did the same for Hispanics....

The ultimate proof that the order of the states “worked” is that no one state proved to be decisive. All 50 states voted, and a national winner emerged.

3. Did the “Superdelegates” play a useful part in the process?...

Given that the superdelegates did, as I predicted in February, ratify the people’s choice, does their inclusion in this process serve any purpose? Yes. The deluge of superdelegate commitments to Barack Obama at the end of the campaign was a positive lift, even as the final primary results were mixed. These party leaders brought with them unity, finality and closure....

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/in-praise-of-the-primary-slog/