Democratic Primaries

Well, it looks like it is all over. Barack Obama has seemingly secured the democratic bid over Hilary Clinton. He got the needed delegates and has 'clinched' the nomination.

But, was this a good process? Is the way that we nominate candidates and run elections fair? I'm not so sure.

Let me use my state as an example. Much has been made about how Obama has done much better in Caucuses than Clinton. In Nebraska this year for the first time the democratic party held a caucus, moving things up over a month from when they usually hold a primary. It was on a Saturday evening, and in my county I think you had to be there at 7:00 pm. I have kids; one of which can't be around lots of people. Does that mean that just me or my wife should have gone while the other stayed home with the kids? Or perhaps we were to get a baby sitter, but of course that would prevent the baby sitter from attending the Caucus (is it legal to ask and only hire a sitter if they are not democrat so we ensure they don't miss the caucus too?).

I don't see the logic in holding a Caucus where everyone must be there at the same time. Besides my example of kids, what about all the people who had to work at the time of the Caucus? By holding a Caucus instead of the traditional primary in Nebraska a lot of voters were disenfranchised; their votes not able to be cast.

Am I just whining because Clinton lost and trying to find an excuse to get her to be the nomination? No I am not. Obama won fair and square based on the current system in place and I hope that he wins in November. I am simply saying that I do not find the current system to be fair and wish something better could be done. What? I don't really know. But a good start would be for states to all have primaries where people are allowed to place their votes any time over a span of several hours.

Oh, did I mention my blogs are no longer going to just be about my losing weight???????