Using Positioning Dynamics to Pick Better Political Candidates

Strategic positions exist both in space and time. Positions are not a point on the map but a path that evolves or degrades over time. The single most common strategic mistake is making judgments based on "snap shot" that doesn't show the relative changes and the speed of those changes. This brings me to a topic I lasted visited in this post, the problem that the Democratic Party has picking successful presidential candidates. A primary system could capture position dynamics if it gave the later state primaries, when the candidates are better known, more delegates than primaries early in the process. The influence of states like Iowa and New Hampshire who pick delegates early would trade that influence for fewer delegates. Those who waited to see more of the candidates' strengths and weaknesses would get more delegates to reflect their more informed viewpoints. This system would also provide an automatic disincentive for states wanting to go early in the process. It would also give good candidates more of an incentive to stay in the race, which right now tends to pick candidates too quickly before they are thoroughly vetted.