February 28, 2007
Stop!!! It's NOT "So Early"!!!!
"It's just so early" has become a pretty common refrain in response to the fast start of the 2008 presidential campaign.
But it's really not that early at all. The starting line moved up because the finish line moved first; the front-loaded primary calendar that has most states voting on or before Feb. 5, 2008, is forcing the campaign to switch into gear now.
This cycle is different. It has two distinct "elections," and candidates who recognize that and stop worrying about the general might benefit more than they realize.
The '08 presidential race should be viewed as two distinct campaigns. Previous primary campaigns have bled seamlessly into the general, which in turn has made the election cycle feel never-ending. For instance, the 2004 campaign, which started full-bore in March 2003, was a solid 20-month continuous campaign because it was all about the general election. The Democratic primary focused on Bush and beating Bush, so the looming general election shone brightly on the party. [CHUCK TODD]
Continue reading On The Trail
Posted at 03:00 PM
Comments
The two-campaigns argument is a good point, but I think the "It's just so early" complaint is about the fact that there IS a national primary nine months before the general election, not that it's too early to be campaigning for the February 5 election.
Peter | 03.01.07 01:13 AM
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