First in the west

Iowa had the nation's "first caucus" (and I complained ad nauseum about it)...

Wyoming's Republicans caucused later that week (but no one noticed)...

New Hampshire quickly responded with the nation's "first primary"...

Then Michigan voters turned out to vote in a mostly Republican primary...

All the while, South Carolina's pimping their "First in the South Primary" - trying to send the message to Republicans across the rest of these United States that they might as well not even turn out to Super Tuesday or anything else, because South Carolinians were this good at predicting the party's nominee.

I used to live in South Carolina. It's a great state. Beautiful. Lovely people. But I hope the Republican party chooses as its nominee someone other than the Palmetto State's pick - just to shut them up.

And so my heart was warmed today when I read this bit about nearby Elko, Nevada:

Starting Thursday evening with a visit by Sen. John Edwards and continuing Friday with a morning stop by Mitt Romney and afternoon rallies for Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, residents of Elko (population 18,183) had a rare opportunity to see, hear and question some of the contenders for the nation's highest office.

This level of personal interaction and attention by each of these candidates in a town so far off of the beaten path, and in a region of the country that has been almost totally ignored by politicians for far too long... this is a wonderful thing.

It is also great to see the Democratic candidates spending so much time in the Silver State. I'm not a registered member of any political party. In a lot of ways I think the two party system fails America. But I firmly believe that it is far better to have two parties than to have only one (I'm looking at you, Utah).

It's nice to see the chaos created by all of these states moving around their primary/caucus dates, as they try to get a little love from the two parties. I support anything that might ultimately disrupt the Iowa/New Hampshire cartel.

Congrats, Nevada, for being "first in the west."