As anyone who’s read this blog before knows, I’m not a fan of Pennsylvania’s late presidential primary. By April 22, the presidential nominations could be decided.

But the wide-open Republican field and the three-person race for the Democratic nomination could change all that. (The three-person Democratic contest could be a two-person battle if John Edwards doesn’t pull out a victory soon.)

Hard as it may seem to believe, Pennsylvania could still be a player by the time April rolls around. Circle the date of Feb. 5, when votes will be cast in 22 states. That should determine whether our state matters or not.

Pennsylvania’s late primary is disappointing, but at least we’re consistent. Both Democrats and Republicans will vote on the same day.

In some states, Democrats and Republicans vote on different days. Take South Carolina. Republicans vote Jan. 19 and Democrats vote Jan. 26.

Then there’s Michigan and Florida.

Their rush to the front of the nomination calendar cost them.

Democratic leaders stripped Michigan of all 156 of its convention delegates and Republican leaders cut the number in half there, from 60 to 30. Michigan’s primary is Tuesday.

The same deal goes with Florida, which holds its primary Jan. 29.

Florida has been stripped of its 210 Democratic delegates and half of its Republican delegates, leaving only 57.

As a result, most Democrats are honoring a pledge not to campaign in Michigan and Florida.

It’s a ridiculous situation and robs the voters of their chance to participate in the process.

And we wonder why people are turned off by politics.

— John Guerriero