The inherent contradictions in her argument for Clinton over Obama are throughly astounding. The biggest one has got to be that, although Obama apparently has less "experience," it seems her main reason for wanting Clinton to be elected is because they're both women, yet black voters must share her same sentiment, and because she herself is unable to find anything positive about Obama, then said black voters - myself included - "don't know why they're voting." Covert racism is an increasingly annoying prospect, a topic she's incredibly averse to commenting on. Also, Yglesias and dNA sent me here and keep up the good work.

A few things after reading some of the comments: 1) Environmental concerns: Not only are hosting primaries, caucuses and the campaigns expensive; the transportation is as well. Having primaries in South Carolina and Nevada on the same day seems silly. Having primaries in different states on the same day is fine, but the example I gave (which was real in January) seems extreme in pollution, cost, etc, and ultimately unnecessary. 2) Keep the caucuses: States can't always afford primaries, and some just like having caucuses and shouldn't be forced to adopt primaries (e.g. Iowa). Caucuses build local support for the party and I'd imagine they're valuable for local Congressional and State Assembly candidates and incumbents. 3) Reform the caucuses: With that said, caucuses need 2 big changes. First, there needs to be a drop-in/mail-in alternative that's immediately accessible and promoted so people who can't go have a way to participate that is well known to them. Second, keep individual vote tallies. This literally makes no sense, as not being able to count the popular vote in caucus states puts too much emphasis on the popular vote count in primary states, as evidenced in this primary season. ***Note: Having caucuses on Saturdays alienates Jews and Adventists, so while you may appreciate a Saturday caucus, they won't and are among the people who need an alternative, lending credence to the idea for reformation. 4) Abolish statewide/congressional district bonuses: While caucuses aren't "truly" democratic, we should strive for democracy, and having a statewide bonus isn't helpful in that regard, as it can easily inflate the vote for a particular candidate that isn't reflected in the popular vote. Additionally, shifting focus on congressional districts with an odd number of delegates because of the dumb math involved (50% +1 = extra delegate) is silly, as is making a convert's vote counted for less than a stalwart partisan vote. My main argument for this is that, as a partisan, you want your party to be dominant. You want to encourage as many people to join your party while still holding to your party's main ideas. To please the partisans, you reward them with more delegates. This discredits a district full of the opposite party to flip. At the same time, rewarding flippers discredits the loyal partisans. The fair thing to do here is to count them all equally, discouraging neither the partisans or the flippers on the basis that they deserve equal attention to foster a stronger party.