January 06, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
Kate’s Take: Why Iowa?

“Howling winds, biting cold, and relentless snowfall" outside the offices of Iowa public TV during Sunday's debate should have prompted candidates to ponder the most obvious question of the campaign season: Why is inhospitable Iowa "first" in the fierce, first month of the year? For some time now, I have been waging an uphill battle to find substitute states for Iowa and New Hampshire in our quadrennial races. The miserable weather both states "enjoy" and the fact that I will soon be navigating their icy roads in an unfamiliar rental car have only reminded me that reform is in order. I have a litany of reasons to strip both states of their outsized influence on the man who would be king.

For starters, the caucus/primary voters in both states are singularly peculiar people. Sure more representative states are in the eye of the beholder, but in a fair contest pacifist, elderly Iowa and cranky New Hampshire wouldn't make the top 25.

Apparently, only about ten percent of registered Democrats typically show up to spend a long tedious evening at the Iowa caucuses. The ability of unions on one side and conservative churches on the other to cajole people to turn out on behalf of their preferred candidates tells us little about contenders' national appeal. And, not content to wield such clout every four years in January, the state parties have dreamed up that stupid summer straw poll to imperil embryonic campaigns. The gall. The greed.

New Hampshire is now home to thousands of self-absorbed professional voters who have served too long as campaigns' laboratory rats. Granite State voters don't vote for candidates, they send messages to the political establishment. (My colleague and officemate Ramesh Ponnuru tells me that my observation comports with the Heisenberg principle. As you will come to appreciate, Ramesh tells me a lot). The big win John McCain enjoyed there in 2000 was a "vanity campaign" of a different sort. The state was flattered that he had bypassed Iowa in order "to stake everything on New Hampshire."

As evidence that I'm not a weather vane when it comes to picking winter locales, I think that Missouri and Colorado, for example, would be less idiosyncratic. The parties are competitive in each and their diverse populations would provide a valid test for candidates. At least initially, their voters would surely be less self-conscious. Why should two states have a monopoly on the opportunity to have rare quality time with politicians engaging in retail politics?

Though I have a conservative's soft spot for tradition, the role that Iowa and New Hampshire play in selecting presidential candidates is one that I would happily scuttle. I know that candidates dare not agree with me, but neither will my colleagues in the media. When it comes to their own traditions, they are as hidebound as the most retro member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They delight in their quadrennial treks to Iowa and New Hampshire to share stories about old campaigns and revel in their own pasts. When it comes to primaries, I am a lonely progressive.

Given that neither state has been kind to candidates named Bush, maybe this overdue change could be a second-term project for the Bush White House.

JUDICIAL COVER

Predictably, during Sunday's debate Howard Dean neatly hid behind Judicial Watch's self-serving lawsuit when challenged on his refusal to release his gubernatorial records. Thanks to Judicial Watch's obvious interest in chasing headlines rather than "seeking justice" as they ridiculously claim, Dean now has an out. After all, the question of what should be released is out of his hands and an impartial judge will decide — no doubt months from now.

Can't Judicial Watch get the attention they crave without suing Howard Dean — or Dick Cheney? Representing Britney's jilted husband should be good for cable face-time.

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