We’re pretty lucky to live in Iowa — at least during presidential primary season. As for the four years in between, well, we’ll always have memories of seeing Tom Brokaw at the Chop House in Des Moines. But really, think about it.

Howard Dean held a rally on campus.

Dennis Kucinich practically lived in Des Moines and Ames for a month.

If you didn’t run into John Kerry during the first few weeks of January, you probably didn’t leave your house.

It’s a system most Iowans take for granted, bumping into presidential candidates in the grocery store, or hosting the candidates at their homes, grilling them on international policy between cups of coffee. It’s a luxury most states envy, especially after mid-March.

After “Super Tuesday,” the only mainstream candidate left in the race is John Kerry.

This is nice for the Democratic party, but the people of New Jersey might feel a bit cheated; their Democratic primary isn’t until June 8.

In fact, 21 states still have primaries after Super Tuesday,

Do you really think John Kerry is going to spend much time in Pennsylvania, campaigning for its April 27 primary?

In an article in the San Jose Mercury News, Neil Oxman, a Philadelphia-based Democratic consultant, said the last time Pennsylvania voters had a real say in the Democratic primary was 1980, when they helped President Jimmy Carter win over Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Twenty-four years.

Enough time to inspire more than a little voter apathy.

The Democratic party is patting itself on the back for narrowing the race so early — makes it easier to focus advertising and funds — but at what price?

Would it really be hard to schedule all the primaries within one, or even two, months of each other?

We don’t consider ourselves to be expert voting strategists, but something’s wrong when a large part of the country has no reason to vote.

Maybe the Democratic National Committee should chunk all the primaries in March and April, small states first, big states staggered through, giving everyone, not just Californians and Iowans, reason to stay interested in the race.

Iowa, of course, should retain its spot as the party’s first contest.

It’s nice for the rest of the country to acknowledge our superior intellect and voting power, even if it’s only once every four years.

But we ought to learn to share the wealth of flesh-pressing politicians with the rest of the country.