Politics on the Hudson

Democrats and Republicans need to re-examine the presidential primary calendar after next year’s election because the system puts too much emphasis on money, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee said Monday, the Associated Press reports.

Terry McAuliffe, now chairman for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, told an audience at Brown University that the rush by states to move their primaries to early next year favors front-runners like Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, according to the AP.

“I think the early primaries will help people who have the ability to raise money — help Hillary, help Barack,� he said. “I’m not sure Bill Clinton could have made it through 1992 with the system we have now.�

McAuliffe said after the speech that he did not favor any particular system, but he would like a commission to study the options, such as a regional primary system.