[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 704-705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            TWO SUPER BOWLS

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I rise to propose that we turn the 
Presidential nominating process over to the National Football League, 
except for Super Bowl half-time shows. Then maybe we can have a second 
Super Bowl, where anything is possible and everyone can participate.
  Take the example of our colleague Senator Kerry's team--I am sure the 
Senator from Vermont will be quick to point out it is the team of many 
Senators from New England--the New England Patriots. Last night, they 
became the Super Bowl champions.
  On September 12, in the season's first game, the Buffalo Bills 
trounced the Patriots 31 to 0. If this had been the first-in-the-Nation 
Presidential nominating caucus, the Patriots would have been toast. You 
know the pundits' rule: Only three tickets out of Iowa. The Patriots 
certainly didn't look like one of the three best professional football 
teams. Then, the Washington Redskins defeated the Patriots, as unlikely 
as it would have been for Dennis Kucinich to upend Senator Kerry in New 
Hampshire. But in the National Football League, upsets don't end the 
season. The Patriots played 14 more games. They won them all. 
Yesterday, they beat the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl for their 
15th consecutive win.
  The National Football League schedules 20 weeks of contests over 5 
months to determine its champion. The Presidential nominating process, 
on the other hand, uses the equivalent of two preseason games in Iowa 
and New Hampshire to narrow the field to two or three--and sometimes 
they effectively pick the winner.
  The NFL wasn't always so wise. In the 1930s, league owners rearranged 
schedules after the first few games so that teams that were doing well 
could play one another. This was good for the Chicago Bears, for 
example, but not for the league. Fans in other cities quit going to the 
games--just as voters in most States have quit voting in Presidential 
primaries.
  Bears owner George Halas and others created today's competitive 
system in which almost any one of 32 teams can hope to make the 
playoffs. Green Bay can make it because the league makes sure that even 
smalltown teams have enough revenue. Prime-time television 
opportunities are rotated. Each Monday, senior officials in the 
league's New York office grade every call and no call to second-guess 
even the instant replays.
  Professional football has become America's game because it symbolizes 
the most important aspect of the American character: If you work hard 
and play by the rules, anything is possible. As a result, 8 of 10 of 
the most watched network television shows have been Super Bowls; 98 of 
the 100 best watched cable television games have been NFL games.
  Every September, the NFL fields 32 teams, almost all with a shot at 
the playoffs. Every 4 years, the Presidential nominating process does 
well to attract a half dozen credible candidates for the biggest job in 
the world. All but half are effectively eliminated after two contests. 
If professional football were Presidential politics, Sportscenter would 
pick the Super Bowl teams after 3 or 4 preseason games.
  These two steps would fix the Presidential nominating process:
  No. 1, spread out the primaries. Twenty-eight primaries are crammed 
into 5 weeks after New Hampshire. Congress should assume the role of 
Paul Tagliabue. Create a window between February and May during which 
primaries may be held every 2 weeks. Iowa and New Hampshire could still 
come first, but they would become off-Broadway warmups and not the 
whole show.
  The second step that would fix the process would be to allow more 
money--to raise their first $10 million, let candidates collect 
individual ``start-up contributions'' of up to

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$10,000. Today's $2,000 limit makes it impossible for most potential 
candidates to imagine how to raise, say, $40 million. During 1995, when 
I was a candidate and the individual limit on contributions was $1,000, 
I fattened 250 fundraisers in that 1 year to collect $10 million. The 
combination of the new $2,000 limit, the increased coverage of new 
cable channels, and the growth of the Internet have made it easier to 
raise money.
  Still all but Senator Kerry was short of cash after New Hampshire. 
Put it this way: The Packers would never make it to the playoffs under 
the revenue rules of Presidential primaries.
  Mr. President, 45,000 Iowans voted for John Kerry in the first 
caucus. About 83,000 New Hampshirites voted for him in the first 
primary. More Americans actually attended last night's Super Bowl game 
in Houston, TX, than voted in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Ninety 
million others watched the Super Bowl game on television.
  Perhaps we should learn something from America's game about how to 
pick a President. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. SMITH). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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