Last year the Republican and Democratic national committees laid down the rules for when states could schedule their primaries. Florida and Michigan both decided unilaterally that they were not going to wait until after Super Tuesday and scheduled their primaries early. Both states were tired of the races being over before they got their say, and felt states like theirs with important voting blocks should have a say in the primary outcomes.

Both committees threatened sanctions against the states, and neither side backed down. So now we stand mired in a quandary: if the committees stand firm they risk alienating large voting blocks; if they give in, pandemonium will ensue next primary season as every state ignores the committee guidelines. Face it, coverage of the last several Democratic primaries have all had similar themes -- "this is the first time West Virginia has had a say in the primary..." States dig this opportunity, and at the local level this gets more people interested in registering and voting.

I don't know how this will play out for this year. (Personally I think every registered voter who wants to vote should be able to do so, and that vote should count.) For next time, though, I propose a solution before the problems start.

• Let Iowa and New Hampshire go first, they'll have a fit otherwise. As every parent knows, sometimes you just have to let the little ones have their way if you want any peace.
• For the rest of the states, schedule primary dates for Super Tuesday, not so super Monday, etc. so that you have the right number of total primaries.
• Hold a lottery draw to fill in the slots for those primaries. This way, Montana and South Dakota and New Mexico won't always be the last ones -- they could luck into a Super Tuesday slot!

Food for thought... Anticipate the problem and come up with a solution BEFORE it rears its ugly head.