Primary proposal intriguing

Although the 2008 presidential primary season is still under way, there's been a lot of discussion on how to do it differently and, we hope, better in 2012.

Take Utah's Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert. He's backing a proposal to conduct rotating regional primaries. Utah would be part of the West region. Others regions would be the Midwest, South and Northeast. Iowa and New Hampshire would be excluded from the regional primaries and continue to conduct the nation's first caucus and primary election, respectively.

Herbert considers a regional primary system a matter of basic fairness. It would enable candidates to consolidate their operations in a particular region running up to primary elections or caucuses. Late last week, the proposal was backed by the National Lieutenant Governors Association.

Rotating regional primaries also would mean that people in any region would have to wait 16 years for a spot at the front of the primary line, but that is better than never, right?

This year, states that vote late may have more of a hand in shaping the Democratic ticket than those who voted early. The race remains highly competitive, so much so that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigned in tiny Wyoming before its March 8 caucuses, with only 12 national convention delegates at stake.

This year, by virtue of taking part in the Western States Presidential Primary, Utahns voted Feb. 5, which attracted a number of pre-election visits from Democratic and Republican candidates or their representatives. That's certainly more attention than the Beehive State had in the past.

On the other hand, rotating regional primaries would have eliminated the renewed fights over Democratic primary elections in Florida and Michigan. Democrats in those states were warned by party officials if they conducted their primary elections early, their delegates could not be seated at the party's national convention. Some in the Democratic Party, Clinton in particular, now say it is undemocratic for those votes not to count. Clinton, of course, won both states.

Whatever approach eventually is selected must be approved by Democratic and Republican national committees. Rotating regional primaries may find some traction in this political season when a record number of people have demonstrated they are politically interested.

The real test will be whether they will remain as interested in the future if they must wait 16 years to be at the front of the line for a regional primary.