23-Month Campaign
In the old days, presidential races were one-year events. John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy on Jan. 2, 1960, and was elected that November. Earlier this month, would-be candidates who were still deciding whether to run in 2008 were being accused of reckless delay. Presidential campaign pundits were saying that if Senator Hillary Clinton had waited another minute to announce, Senator Barack Obama would have locked up every New Hampshire county committee member and hedge fund billionaire.
This really is an election on hyperspeed.
Part of this is due to the peculiarities of the race. President Bush is so unpopular that a power vacuum is opening up in Washington and, for the first time in many election cycles, both parties’ nominations are wide open. The Internet is also fueling the overdrive, with “netroots primaries,” in which the voting has already begun.
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