South Carolina [Eric]

South Carolina actually makes a lot of sense as an early primary on the Democratic side, as about half of the primary electorate is black. Since black voters are the Dems' bread and butter, having a primary with such an enormous minority presence is a good contest through which to go.

On the other hand, Stephen, every last one of your critiques hold true on the Republican side. Just look at Rudy Giuliani state campaign chairman.

Then again, I suppose stuff like that is exactly why the state makes sense for today's Republican Party.