Primaries

WASHINGTON -- No one who knows Patrick Buchanan is surprised that he has decided to make a third try at the Republican presidential nomination. When he takes a notion to do something, he is not easily dissuaded.But no one who understands politics imagines that the conservative TV commentator and columnist has any realistic chance of winning. He is too unyielding and extreme in his positions on too many issues.There may appear to be sound reasons for Mr. Buchanan to run again. After all, in 1992 he captured an impressive share of the vote challenging an incumbent president, George Bush, in several primaries.

WASHINGTON -- Not content with seeing Texas Gov. George W. Bush riding high as the front-runner in most polls on the public's preference for the 2000 Republican presidential nominee, about 50 present and former GOP congressmen have joined an effort to draft him.The development has given Mr. Bush a nice, fuzzy feeling. His spokesman says he is "honored that fellow Republican elected officials from diverse parts of the country have recognized that he is a principled conservative who has the ability to erase the gender gap and attract record numbers of minority voters."

WASHINGTON -- In the past, folks seeking a breathing spell from presidential politics in the year before an election could count on a reprieve during the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.Political operatives figured voters were too wrapped up in wrapping up Christmas presents and going to holiday parties to be interested in what one candidate had to say about another.No more. Because the year 2000 schedule of presidential primaries and caucuses through which delegates to next summer's national party conventions are chosen has been shoved forward to start in January, the candidates and their campaign operatives now feel compelled to go all-out through December, holidays or not.And it is not only the unprecedented early date of the Iowa precinct caucuses, now slated for Jan. 24.New HampshireOnly eight days later, on Feb. 1, the critical New Hampshire primaries for both major parties will be held.

WASHINGTON -- When Texas Gov. George W. Bush met recently with home-state fund-raisers for his presidential campaign, he needed an auditorium to hold them all.The 550 well-heeled Texans, expected to collect at least $10,000 each, are part of an army of fund-raisers in both parties who have launched a feverish, and record-breaking, money hunt on behalf of presidential hopefuls. This rush to collect tens of millions in donations is regarded as the first important test of the 2000 presidential campaign.

9 Western states consider coordinating their primariesThe West would gain more clout and presidential nomination fights would cost candidates less money if as many as nine sparsely populated states in the region held primaries on the same day, Utah Gov. Michael O. Leavitt suggested yesterday.To give the region more political volume in 2000, the Republican and a group of fellow Western governors have convened a bipartisan task force to pick a date in the next presidential election that would make their states key players in the nomination process.

Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III may never be considered political allies, and they are hardly close friends. But they are turning out to be far from the persistent adversaries and bitter foes that recent political history suggested they would be.A year after winning convincing victories in the Democratic primaries -- Schmoke on his way to his third term as mayor and Bell to a first as council president -- the city's two most powerful elected officials seem on the verge of entering an era of good feeling not seen at City Hall in nearly a decade.

WASHINGTON -- He wanted to be sure -- beyond a glimmer of a doubt -- before he laid claim to the prize that has slipped from his grasp twice before. And last night, with California's enormous chunk of delegates snug in his pocket, the ever-cautious Bob Dole was finally sure."

WASHINGTON -- The first law of politics is never say never, but it is almost impossible to conjure up the circumstances under which Bob Dole could be denied the Republican presidential nomination after his sweep of eight primaries.After a year of marching up the hill and down again, the Senate majority leader finally has fulfilled the expectations of party leaders who considered his nomination inevitable, then began to worry as he stumbled through the early stages of the campaign.But Mr. Dole seized the front-runner's role again without presenting a new and compelling message for his candidacy.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- This time, when he emerged to speak to his supporters at the end of a presidential contest day, no one had to remind Bob Dole to smile.Getting from the South's first primary what has eluded him in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination -- a decisive victory -- a beaming Mr. Dole, who lost here in 1988, said, "I've waited eight years to say, 'Thank you, South Carolina.' I'll never forget what happened in South Carolina tonight.' "With his wife, Elizabeth, and the state's GOP power brokers by his side, the Kansas senator said that "nobody in their wildest dreams" thought he would beat rival GOP candidate Patrick J. Buchanan by as much as 15 percentage points.

WASHINGTON -- Some Republican leaders are growing increasingly self-congratulatory at the prospect that the contest for the party's presidential nomination will be settled quickly.The rush of so many states to claim press attention by holding early primaries means that almost three-fourths of the delegates to the Republican convention will be chosen by the end of March.And many professionals believe it is possible that Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole may lock up the nomination for all practical purposes even sooner without having nailed down a majority of the delegates -- as early as March 12, the date for the Super Tuesday primaries in several states including Texas and Florida.

If this is a marathon, surely we're approaching the last uphill. Long past any endorphin high, we're now into the oxygen-depleted, brain-benumbed, shin-splinting part of the race. But the finish line remains out of sight - in fact, it appears to be moving farther away rather than closer with every painful step. Welcome to the Democratic presidential primary, the race that apparently is never going to end but will just keep going, and going and going - who knows, past the general election in November, past inauguration day in January.

Harford County's newest judge beat back three challengers to win election to the bench in one of three contested local races in the state's primary election. Angela M. Eaves, 48, the first woman and first African-American to serve on the Harford County Circuit Court, garnered 24,117 votes, 67 percent of Democratic ballots and 43 percent of Republican, with all 72 precincts reporting. The Havre de Grace resident, appointed to the bench by Gov. Martin O'Malley in December, will run unopposed in the November general election for the 15-year term.

The halls of the Baltimore City schools headquarters vibrated with election chatter last week. When would Sen. Barack Obama appear in Baltimore? Was Sen. Hillary Clinton stronger on issues? "We've been talking about it all day ... the possibility of having an African-American or a woman in the White House," said Arthur Moore, 52, a schools administrator. "I'm excited, because it's a new day for us." In offices, coffee joints, barber shops and college dormitories across the state, discussion has raged in the past week about one of the most compelling elections in decades.

Sen. Barack Obama built a fragile advantage among Maryland Democrats heading into the nation's first primaries of 2008, with the state's large black population solidifying around the candidacy of a promising African-American leader, a new Sun poll shows. But Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's win in New Hampshire has likely tightened the Democratic contest, The Sun's pollster said. Among Republicans in Maryland, Sen. John McCain of Arizona holds a narrow edge over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney close behind, according to the poll.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- As a long pre-primary campaign nears an end, the presidential contest has been turned upside down. In both parties, the ground has shifted drastically under the leading contenders. Much of what strategists thought they knew is now in doubt, and the nominations are very much up for grabs. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, once seen as the inevitable Democratic nominee, has been caught by Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, according to recent early-state polling. At least as breathtaking has been the Republican upheaval.

For months, politicians in such big states as California, Florida and Michigan have griped about their lack of influence in the 2008 presidential race, pushing up their primaries to try to diminish the sway of Iowa and New Hampshire. Now, thanks to those efforts, Iowa and New Hampshire appear more important than ever. The reasons are illustrated in the latest campaign fundraising reports, issued last week. The figures show a presidential contest that effectively has split into two financial tiers.

Nine months before the first votes are cast and at a time when almost no one outside the political industry is paying attention, a crowded field of presidential contenders is being thinned on the basis of the candidates' ability to raise money. In theory, that's a fair test of an appealing campaign message - and the good news for democracy is that the presumed front-runners in both parties no longer look like prohibitive favorites so far in advance of Election Day. But the extraordinary dollar chase has so dominated the campaigns so far that candidates have little time for anything else.

IF DEMOCRATS try to rewrite next year's election calendar, they will cloak their self-serving maneuver in the rhetoric of good government: People will have more time to consider their choices, people want more time to find out where candidates stand on the issues, etc. The real reasons, of course, are purely political. Democrats believe an earlier party primary and a longer general election season may be useful in a year when intraparty competition could leave hard feelings among Democratic pols and voters.

What do you think of the process our major parties use to choose their nominees for president? How would you change it? Collectively, we represent 905 years of experience and wisdom as American-born citizens. And we are dissatisfied with many aspects of the process our major parties use to choose their nominees for president. We suggest the following: The process should be made shorter - don't drag out the campaigning. Instead, use a shorter amount of time and be more productive - prepare and present solid, truthful and concise ideas.

MARYLAND DEMOCRATS heading to the polls today can take some satisfaction that they still have a choice among candidates in the race for the presidential nomination. But backers of candidates who have dropped out will have to settle for a smaller, less diverse field because of choices made in earlier primaries and caucuses. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has a clear edge, having so far won 18 of the 20 contests electing delegates. But Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is pushing him hard.