Florida's Republican-majority legislature, with bipartisan support, passed a bill moving Florida's 2008 presidential primary from March 11th to January 29th. Florida's Republican governor signed the bill into law. The idea was to give Florida an earlier voice in deciding who would be the nominees for the two major political parties, rather than leaving that honor to Iowa and New Hampshire and other small states.
As it turns out Florida's 2008 primary will be mostly remembered for the implosion of the Giuliani campaign and, to a lesser degree, the end of the Edwards campaign. Rather than being a "king-maker" Florida was just another early state whose primary results ended up making little difference in picking the parties’ nominees.
So, January 29, 2008 is history, as is 2008's Super Tuesday, and there's still no Democratic or Republican presidential candidate with enough delegate votes to secure the nomination.
Which brings us to the Law of Unintended Consequences. If Florida's primary was upcoming on March 11th, the nation's eyes would be focused on Florida (and Texas, a week earlier) as the real tipping point for the nominees, the “king-maker.” Instead, Florida is just an also-ran.
The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
