Brownstein on the new politics of the primary calender

LA Times writer Ron Brownstein has an interesting piece today, The National Audition, which reflects on how the new Democratic Presidential primary calendar will make this a very different election year. 

I have a few quotes in the story and spent a long time with Brownstein talking through all this.  The basic case I try to make is that we are seeing an explosion of citizen involvement in our politics, something healthy and good for the nation.  The new primary system, though it is not perfect, is allowing all regions of the country to participate in the important job of picking a President, something the old system - at least in recent years - did not allow, accelerating this transformation to a new post-broadcast people-powered politics. 

It's worth taking a look at the piece.  It raises all sorts of interesting questions.