Just imagine if every truly important decision in our country was decided the way we select presidential candidates.
First, we would have to get a bunch of rural, nearly entirely white Iowans together to stand in groups, then after a first count, reshuffle and be counted again -- apparently by people who can't count. Then we would go to New Hampshire, where once again a group of nearly entirely white, rural citizens would vote. Only then, if both Iowa and New Hampshire approve, could we move forward.
This means that no one who lives in a true urban area would have a say. Des Moines with a population just over 217,000 is the only city in either state with a population above 200,000. There are only two other cities in Iowa (Cedar Rapids, 132,000; Davenport, 102,000) and only a single city in New Hampshire (Manchester, 109,000) with a population over 100,000.
Minorities would have no real say. Iowa's black population is 3.5 percent. New Hampshire's black population is a miniscule 1.1 percent.
We as a nation would not tolerate such a decision-making system for anything that would impact our lives in even the smallest fashion. Yet that is how we are choosing the candidates to run for the most powerful office in the world.
Unless you're Mike Bloomberg with more money than God, a candidate must win or come close in Iowa or New Hampshire, or they are done. Even Joe Biden, with a resume that includes with 36 years in the U.S. Senate and 8 years as Vice President, is being counted out if he doesn't finish in the top two in New Hampshire after finishing fourth in Iowa.
This is NOT the way to choose the future of the United States.
