Caucus, primary schedules may change nationally but Iowa would still be first

There are reports that Republican and Democrat leaders are working together to change the caucus/primary season for the 2012 presidential election, but Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada would still be at the head of the pack.
Carl Leubsdorf, veteran columnist for the Dallas Morning News, says both major political parties want to shorten the season by starting it later - so that candidates aren't spending Christmas week campaigning, as they did in 2007, when the Iowa caucuses were held on Jan. 3, 2008.
Leubsdorf says Iowa and New Hampshire would still be number one and number two and that if the new plan goes into effect, it will probably end efforts to dethrone the two states from their lead-off positions.
"Past efforts have shown such efforts don't succeed," writes Leubsdorf. "And the two states, while important in narrowing the field, often have not determined the outcome unless the same candidate won both."
To read the full column, go to www.dallasnews.com and type "Leubsdorf" in the search box.