As presidential election years approach, it's not unusual to hear reservations about the primary schedule, and in particular, the huge influence of Iowa and New Hampshire. For example, here is _The New York Times_' **David Leonhardt** with [reservations](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/business/economy/01leonhardt.html?_r=1...) about the democratic bona fides of our presidential nomination process:

The article of the day is Gabriel Sherman's excellent piece in New York magazine about the current state of Fox News and its leader Roger Ailes. It's a fascinating read, and one of the things it reveals is how difficult it is to build ratings, serve the interests of the Republican Party, and maintain the idea that you're an actual news organization all at the same time:

Are Republican voters passionate about their presidential choices? Apparently not, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll:

While it may not be unusual for voters’ attention to be focused elsewhere at this stage of a campaign, the survey at the very least provides a reality check for a race that has received frenetic coverage at times on cable news and the Internet even though nearly 60 percent of Republicans cannot point to a single candidate about whom they are enthusiastic, according to the Times/CBS poll.

Time's Joe Klein feels embarrassed for the country whenever he sees the current crop of Republican presidential candidates:

I have never before seen such a bunch of vile, desperate-to-please, shameless, embarrassing losers coagulated under a single party's banner. They are the most compelling argument I've seen against American exceptionalism. Even Tim Pawlenty, a decent governor, can't let a day go by without some bilious nonsense escaping his lizard brain. And, as Greg Sargent makes clear, Mitt Romney has wandered a long way from courage.

The greatest question in the political blogosphere right now is whether Mitt Romney is a dead man walking or the inevitable 2012 Republican candidate. I'm joking, but as I've mentioned before, I think this question is answered pretty easily by looking at how he fared in the 2008 primaries. 2012 will likely be a repeat.

One of the consequences of the late start to the presidential campaign is that candidates haven't been spending as much time in Iowa, and apparently, some candidates are contemplating skipping it altogether the way John McCain did in 2008, not least because Iowa's Republican voters seem to be getting more and more conservative. This is a good time to remind ourselves that the ritual candidate humiliation of parading through living rooms to meet Iowa voters 10 at a time is not actually written in the Constitution. Iowans certainly like it that way -- who wouldn't? I'd love to have presidential candidates personally beseech me for my vote.