November starts now

It’s important for Grand Old Party primary voters to know who the candidates are and why they matter. That process of becoming informed starts now.
Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry are players in the name game present throughout national media in preparation for the 2012 presidential election.
It’s easy for voters to look past party
primaries and polls, and wait until November
when the Democratic and Republican parties have already chosen their candidates. At that point there are only two people for voters to read about.
But are they the right two?
The most crucial time in the presidential election cycle is now. It’s clear that President Barack Obama will be on the ticket for Democrats as the incumbent, but his Republican counterpart is still being decided. The Iowa Caucus, New Hampshire primary — and now the vote in South Carolina have dominated national headlines for the last two weeks.
Idaho’s primaries are just around the corner on March 6, giving voters less than two months to figure out who could be a real contender against Obama, and who is simply a joke. Comedy Central star Stephan Colbert announced last week that he will be running for “the president of South Carolina,” the only primary he is said to be running in. This comedic publicity stunt could mislead uninformed voters who don’t understand the difference between a politician and a punch line.
Keeping up with primaries in other states is just as important as knowing who the candidates are and what they stand for. Candidates in this election have already developed a habit of leapfrogging states to spend more time with citizens of the next one. They have neglected certain regions of a state they have little chance in, and made use of other parlor tricks to help bolster their position with the Republican National Committee. Tracking these trends makes it easier to spot whether a candidate is telling the truth, or just phishing for a vote.
It’s easy for bustling college students to dismiss topics that don’t seem timely or relevant, but that should not be the case with the GOP primary. It is the first domino in line, and the Iowa Caucus at the beginning of the month set off the chain reaction.
All it takes is one night of not playing “Call of Duty” or watching “Mad Men” on Netflix. In that short amount of time, any student can search four or five names and see what each candidate has to offer. The alternative is a slot on the November ballot filled with an unfamiliar name checked simply because it has an “R” next to it.
Vote for the candidate who will best serve our country — not the candidate with movie star good looks or a knack for cracking jokes.
— MM – See more at: file:///Volumes/argonaut$/stories/sections/opinion/stories/2012/Jan/18/november_starts_now.html#sthash.NDXdv8Cn.dpuf

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