Are Iowa, N.H. really worthy?

Hillary is working hard for us, bless her heart, as she undermines the very folks she ask to caucuses for her in four days.

Elections experts split on small states' relevance

By Joe Hallett, Jack Torry and Darrel Rowland THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Beginning the presidential nominating process in Iowa, as will occur this week, "makes no sense," says Gov. Ted Strickland, who recently campaigned there for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

"I'd like to see both parties say, 'We're going to bring this to an end,' " he said.

It's too late to do that for 2008, though, which is why the candidates and thousands of out-of-state supporters and reporters are trudging through Iowa this week -- and then on to New Hampshire for the run-up to its Jan. 8 primary -- in a quadrennial ritual that many agree is no way to pick a president.

Critics complain that the current system gives a few hundred thousand voters in Iowa and New Hampshire far too much influence. They contend that the skills candidates use to connect with small groups in Iowa and New Hampshire are not necessarily those that a president needs.

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