Primary Madness

Well, I was not altogether thrilled with the initial move to South Carolina, and for a few weeks punted about such unoriginal complaints as "too flat", "too hot", and "I had NO idea my hair could possibly frizz THIS much." I don't think southern women make their hair big on purpose, after having survived a summer, fall, and another fall that called itself "winter" here. It's just so humid they have no other choice. But I digress. Anyway, I tried to content myself by thinking of all the wonderful things that are here in South Carolina that are not anywhere else. My neat house...my first teaching job...Josh and Magic...but then I hit upon the best of them all.

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES!!!!!!!!! WHOOO!

No, seriously. Primaries are awesome! Particularly when you have recently moved from North Carolina (where my primary vote was thrown in the "why bother" pile, and my presidential vote was thrown in an even larger "why bother" pile) to the state that recently moved its primary so it is now THIRD IN THE NATION. I nearly wet my pants when I realized that. Ooh, wait, I just did again. J/K. Okay: a brief background for the politically unenlightened (aka Americans, minus seven). A primary is an election for the person who will be the candidate in the general election. They happen in all fifty states in each of the political parties (with a few exceptions) several months before the general election. In this case, before the 2008 Presidential election. The primaries held first get the most attention, because early wins can help a candidate solidify a nomination. The primaries that are held later in the process (North Carolina, I'm looking at you) have little to no impact on the primary because the nominee may have already secured enough votes to be the candidate, and is now working on the actual presidential election. Still with me? Eat some red M&Ms, they make you smarter. South Carolina recently moved their primary to January (2008), so it is now among the FIRST FOUR IN THE U.S. This means we have been getting candidate visits galore. In January, South Carolinians will get an opportunity to actually make a difference in selecting the Presidential candidate (depending on party, of course). I was totally psyched to be able to take part in this.

Then, as it does, change happened. Yay Josh got a transfer. Yay Josh got a raise. Yay Atlanta will have way more job opportunities for me. Yay we're moving in May...wait...oh no...oh no! OH NO! PRIMARY MADNESS!! Georgia currently has a March primary! They're not going to get near the political attention of South Carolina! Grrrr....

So long story short, I am again relegated to one in 300 million, instead of a very important one in 4 million. :(