Presidential Primary Reform

I was just reading an article in the Washington Post on the topic. The current system sure is skewed. So I proceeded to google the stuff a bit.

GOVERNOR PATAKI PROPOSES SWEEPING PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY REFORM
Presidential Selection: A Guide to Reform ..... evidence suggests many Americans are turned off by the way in which the parties choose their candidates ..... found the public complaining of campaigns being too long and feeling disenfranchised, echoing sentiments of "my vote does not count." ...... The structure of the nominating calendar has made the inside baseball game decisive in presidential politics, with fundraising and early endorsements critical to success. ..... this increasingly closed system ..... troubled by the prospect of alienating vast pools of citizens so early in the process ..... Sabato's plan divides the nation into four geographic regions, each having approximately the same number of electoral votes. A few months prior to each election season, a lottery will be held to determine the order in which the regions will hold their nominating contests........ The states in each region hold nominating contests in March, April, May, and June, as determined by the lottery.....
MyDD :: Primary Reform and the California Plan ..... This system features a schedule consisting of ten two-week intervals, during which randomly selected states may hold their primaries. This 20-week schedule is the approximate length of the traditional primary season....... In the first interval, a randomly determined combination of states with a combined total of eight congressional districts would hold their primaries, caucuses or convention. This is approximately equal to the total number of congressional district in Iowa (5) and New Hampshire (2), thus preserving door-to-door "retail politicking." ...... Any state or combination of states amounting to a total of eight congressional districts could be in the first round of primaries and caucuses. This could include such ethnically diverse jurisdictions as American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, and Maryland....... The widest possible political debate would be fostered by this system ......

Looks to me like the good ideas are already out there, as they often are. What has been lacking is the political will and skill to bring these ideas to some serious debate and implementation. I particularly like this so-called California plan.

The best ideas are "scientific" in character.

The American Plan