Don’t hold your breath on the state Legislature moving the presidential primary from April 22 to Feb. 12, or even to Feb. 5 as Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed.

The fiscal year budget is the priority now. And even Rendell, who supports the earlier primary, doesn’t seem to have much trouble arguing against it.

He did that when he spoke before the Erie Times-News editorial board in April, cautioning about the front-loading of so many states’ primaries and caucuses in January and February. He said that would squeeze out the lesser-known candidates who don’t have enough money to spend on campaigns in so many states at one time.

But there’s an argument for Pennsylvania — one of the swing states in the presidential election — also playing a role in deciding the two major party nominees when every Tom, Dick and Hillary is still a candidate.

Stay tuned.

A housekeeping note here for those who have started to read these new postings. I’m spending some time with my family away from the office for a few days.

I’ll resume the postings when I return.

But I’ll leave you with one more gem from Democratic strategist James Carville, who spoke this week at the Manufacturers’ Association of Northwest Pennsylvania’s annual event. This time it’s not a comedic zinger, but one about the importance of voting.

Maybe it will give us something to think about between now and the Pennsylvania presidential primary, whenever it’s held.

“In a secular society, voting is the most sacred thing we do,’’ he said.

— John Guerriero