A long way to go

The Year Ahead | The political and economic outlook for 2012 appears murky | Marvin Olasky

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Are we there yet?

The children's question on long car trips is likely to be the question parents will ask political and economic decision-makers during 2012.

The Republican primaries will yield political drama during the first half of the year. Republicans have partly imitated Democrats by moving from winner-take-all primaries to proportional representation of the kind that in 2008 led to a protracted battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. For example, the new rules state that any GOP primary in March must have some proportionality in the selection of delegates.

Since Obama in 2008 faced only one other major candidate, he was able to eke out a win without having the contest continue all the way to the Democratic convention. But what if the GOP, at the end of March this year, has not two but three or four major candidates, all with enthusiastic supporters and enough financial backing to keep on slogging, state after state?