And I suppose I could add a fourth thing, as well. The old way of selecting candidates, in which influential and often corrupt political bosses orchestrated things with secret backroom back-room deals, was worse than anything we have today.

Three proposals are circulating:

• A single, nationwide primary, held in every state on the same day. This is an attractive idea for voters — no one state would get the jump over any other. But it would be a nightmare for candidates. If your favorite doesn't have the money to campaign effectively nationwide, he or she wouldn't stand a chance.

• Graduated, random primaries. This plan, promoted by the Center for Voting and Democracy, would set up a series of primaries, beginning with small states and gradually moving toward the largest. The states would be grouped together in random order. This would be a good thing for Utah, which probably would get an early vote. But it would give small states a disproportionate amount of power, and the random groupings would create expensive travel challenges for campaigns.

• Rotating regional primaries. This one was crafted by the National Association of Secretaries of State and was endorsed by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker III. It would divide the nation into four regions. Every four years, the regions would rotate their voting order. This would be easier on candidates, but it would give Utahns a real choice only once every 16 years.

Which would you prefer? Or do you have a better solution? I'd like to know. E-mail me or send your ideas to P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail him at even@desnews.com.