This Time, It Counts

A week from today, we get to vote again. And you thought it was all over in November.

It's presidential primary time, and the good news is, our vote matters this time around. However, waiting another week might have been nice, looking back on it.

At the time, which was just a few months ago, the state moved the primary to next Tuesday in order to be part of Super Tuesday, and maybe, just maybe, have at least a legitimate say in the nominees.

Of course since then, Mitt Romney was the front-runner looked dead, came back to life, looked dead, and seems to be coming back to life (especially if he wins tonight). John McCain was dead, came back to life, and is hanging in. Rudy Giuliani was America's Mayor, then a presidential gambler, then seemingly a candidate for governor of Florida, and now washed up. Mike Huckabee was a scary unknown, a scary known, and now a guy who can't afford a campaign plan. Fred Thompson came and went, and no one noticed either.

And that's just the Republicans.

The point? The finals start next Tuesday, and Massachusetts gets to play. Don't expect candidates to be making any appearances in the state, but I'd expect to start seeing some ads in the next few day. A little electronic love doesn't hurt, eh? The also-rans have been weeded out (except for John Edwards, who you have to think falls asleep at night murmurring "compromise candidate"), and we have the big guns to choose from. Romney-McCain, Clinton-Obama. Let the good times begin.

Some folks -- many, in fact -- think there may not be a clear winner or leader after next Tuesday. Particularly on the Democratic side, which hands out delegates based on Congressional districts, not winner-take-all. It might still be very, very close after next Tuesday. If you're smart, you'll be trying to keep an eye on delegate count, not state-by-state count (I think CNN does a pretty good job at this, but their HD graphics are a little confusing, on top of a confusing process).

The state did the right thing when it moved the primary to Feb. 5. At the time, that was the big party. But what if they had waited a week? What if someone had the foresight to see the mess of a bunch of good, but flawed, candidates, and said, "hey, let's wait a week." On Feb. 12, the areas voting are D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Massachusetts' 12 electoral college votes (I don't know delegate counts, and figure EC votes are a good measuring stick) are two more than Maryland, and one less than Virginia's 13. So if Massachusetts had waited a week, the stakes here were likely to be much higher.

Instead, we get to run with the big boys -- New York, California, Pennsylvannia, Illinois. But the vote still matters for the first time in a long time, and that's good news.

A reminder: While you're out making your vote, don't forget to sign the petition for a charter review. We can settle how we think about things later, but the process can't start without signatures. So add yours, and do your little bit of extra civic good next Tuesday.