A Long Campaign Gives Democracy A Good Workout

Yes, it will. The Democratic primary will go on forever and ever. Isn't it grand ?

Voters, buck up. Superdelegates, gather your strength. Let the campaign strategists argue over delegate math and let countless talking heads argue over the definition of "going negative." Because the next seven weeks (or more!) may be exhausting, but they might ultimately be good for democracy. And they could be good for the Democratic Party, as well.

All those states that have complained in past election cycles that they don't matter, so much so that this time they moved their primaries up? Looks like they needn't have bothered. Looks like Pennsylvania, with its April 22 primary, will have a crack at the action. Which means more voters weighing in on the Democratic race, which means more power to the people.

So bring it on! Bring on the candidates' newfound love for the Steelers. Bring on the mandatory cheese-steak-eating photo ops. (Tip from John Kerry: Do not ask for Swiss cheese.) Let the most historic primary race in history continue. We see Barack Obama shooting hoops in West Philly with Will Smith. We see Hillary Clinton in an Amish buggy with a guy named Jebediah. We see more people arguing about the issues this race can't help but be about -- race and gender, establishment versus youth, the choice (a false choice, really) between judgment and experience. Those arguments aren't bad things, not if folks can find some substance amid the theatrics.

A lot can happen in seven weeks. As Time's Mark Halperin pointed out recently, "It was only eight weeks ago we had the Iowa caucuses." That era seems practically Paleolithic now.

B.I. (Before Iowa) -- that was the early phase of the Democratic race, in which Clinton appeared to have the race sewn up. Then there was the second epoch, in which Obama-love made voters (and some say reporters) swoon. If the third and final phase of Obama vs. Clinton is a hard slog, that seems fitting. Such a fascinating election deserves a little more time and contemplation.

Some observers have suggested that big wins for Clinton this week meant good things for Republican nominee-to-be John McCain. It meant Clinton would stay in the race, which meant she and Obama would burn through lots of cash competing for the nomination, leaving McCain to organize his operation and define himself for voters. But here's another take: McCain now disappears from the news for seven weeks.

"When the spotlight is on you, you benefit from it," says Democratic consultant Tad Devine, who's neutral in this contest. Devine says much depends on the tenor of the attacks between Clinton and Obama. Thus far, he argues, the attacks have been neither vicious nor personal. They've merely been "inevitable." It is only if the tone gets significantly nastier that McCain benefits, Devine says.

So the Democratic race keeps on keepin' on, and in the meantime, voters are left with the image of McCain meeting with George W. Bush yesterday in the Rose Garden, and receiving the president's endorsement. For better or for worse.

Which is not to say every Democrat should be happy about another round of Obama vs. Clinton. Far from it.

"You know, Punxsutawney Hill just saw her shadow," Obama supporter Jamal Simmons said on CNN after Clinton took Texas, predicting a long, painful winter. "At some point, we've got to make a decision."

Sure thing. Just not quite yet.