A National Primary

After witnessing firsthand the media circus that was the New Hampshire primary, I no longer have any doubt in my mind of two things: the absolute need for a single, national primary, and that my generation is the furthest thing from apathetic.
I also no longer have any doubt that a seven-hour drive can drive a person to clinical insanity.
After returning home and regaining my mind, I watched the news coverage of all I had witnessed firsthand and saw, perhaps, the most horrifying aspect of politics: spin!
Left and right, (pun intended) the news networks were declaring winners of debates and "frontrunners" of elections without any substance backing it up. During one Republican forum in particular, just prior to the New Hampshire primary, Fox News had a group of 30 “undecided voters” watch the debate and then decide for whom they would vote. Any guesses on the vote tally? 28 Romney to 2 McCain. At least pretend to be fair or balanced!
So as primary after primary passed by, I noticed that the media spun every vote and debate into winners and losers, no matter how close the numbers or vague the differences on issues. Why? Because conflict is exciting! And if that conflict occurs between more than two opposing parties, the general public gets confused, and confusion means lower ratings. Remember John Edwards?
To put it simply, the earlier a state has its primary, the more power its voters have in the primary season. Iowa and New Hampshire, specifically, have a history of destroying political campaigns in one fell swoop. And in recent years, the other 48 are vying for the maximum amount of influence.
The later your primary, the less your vote counts. For example, in moving the California primary to an earlier date in the political season, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cited his reason being that it would make the race more “fair” because Californians were now more influential in choosing the candidates.
That idea sounds about as popular as "Jingle All the Way," Arnold.
I am proud to live in Pennsylvania, a state that has the pride to avoid the political games of pushing primary dates around in an attempt to gain unfair influence. But in doing so, our primary will be nothing more than an approval vote of nominees who will already have been decided. What a joke! And then when my generation becomes sick of these political games being played in Washington, our politicians act surprised, and even upset, to hear such a thing!
We want change, and I am not talking about the pretty, one-line sound clip that has lost all meaning during the last few weeks on the presidential caravan. My generation wants a national primary where every vote is counted at once, and every vote is as influential as every other vote.
Radical idea, huh?
Not at all. An election with candidates that zigzag across the country, rely on donations from low class families to stay in five-star hotels, and depend on media popularity and sound clips to become the next leader of the free world sounds like the radical thought to us.
My generation is not apathetic at all. We are just tired of the current situation and administration. We are tired of being lied to. We are looking for a candidate that, for a change, we can trust.