February 5th 2008

As New Jersey joins the group of states that will have primaries on February 5th 2008, one of the unforeseen consequences will be an even greater emphasis on money and name recognition. The magical odysseys of Newt Gingrich, Fred Thompson, and John Edwards, maybe upended, not because of what they stand for, but because of the timetable. Large well-funded organization with candidates who are fairly familiar gives them an immense advantage in a primary day that will stretch from New Jersey to California.

Although there are many candidates in the race, there are very few that can play in this opulent ballpark. The Democrats and the Republicans are going to find that the field, sooner rather than later, will support only one or at the most two people who can challenge the current front-runners. The fear that both parties have, especially those with ideological positions on divisive issues is that they cannot attract enough electoral votes to win the presidency.