'Tis the Primary Season

December 1, 2003

Editor at Large

s this issue of crosses your desk, the first presidential primary (non-binding, in the District of Columbia) is just six weeks away. It will be followed a week later by the Iowa caucuses and then by the New Hampshire primary a week after that. But I should conclude with less trivial fare-by commending to your attention Katherine Peters' terrific story in this issue about the Forest Service's losing battle to fight narcotics production on federal land; George Cahlink's inside look at the huge effort required to keep the Army's equipment working in Iraq; Shane Harris' explanation of how government is buying homeland security technology; and our annual Gracie awards for the best technology initiatives in government. And by wishing you a most joyous holiday season.

Government Executive

I think it is a safe assumption that most readers of this magazine will be paying close attention as the political countdown progresses. After all, campaigns set the tone and outline the substance for what comes after-the process of enacting and implementing new policies and programs. Elections stand to change the missions and the working conditions of many in government.

With this in mind, we thought you might like to have a new calendar for 2004 put together colleagues of ours who produce the well-regarded Almanac of American Politics. And so we have taken the liberty of sending you the Calendar of American Politics for 2004 along with this issue.

Researched and produced by Charles Mahtesian, editor of the Almanac, the calendar includes every political date worth knowing for next year, and some that you might not heretofore have thought important. It notes that in July, for example, the Democratic National Convention will be up and running in Boston from the 26th through the 29th-and that the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake will be held in Crisfield, Md., on the 21st. It includes the birthdays of every member of Congress, in case a card may seem in order to acknowledge services rendered.

Beyond these daily entries, the calendar includes pages full of useful and amusing political and historical facts and trivia. One page details the road to the White House. Another traces the history of reapportionment in the past 60 years. How many seats has California has gained since 1942? And would you have guessed that California's gain would be matched by the losses accumulated by New York and Pennsylvania? April's page includes a profile of the House of Representatives by the numbers-factoids such as the smallest and largest congressional districts (12 square miles versus 105,635 square miles) and the districts that delivered the largest and smallest percentages of the vote for George W. Bush in 2000 (77.7% in the Texas 8th versus 5.4% in New York's 16th). Among political milestones in December was a prison break by William Marcy "Boss" Tweed, notorious leader of New York's Tammany Hall, in 1875.

The Almanac itself is a terrific book, much cherished by legions of political aficionados. It features narrative histories and statistical portraits of every state and congressional district. It profiles every governor, senator and representative, including political ratings by interest groups and records of votes on key issues. You can order the 1,800-page volume at www.aap2004.com.

A few trivia questions from the 2004 edition:

What is the most Irish congressional district in the U.S.? (Massachusetts' 10th district)
Where will you find the institution that has granted more than 70,000 bachelor's degrees in Hamburgerology? (McDonalds Hamburger University in Illinois' 13th district)
Which districts rank third and fourth in government workers as a share of total workforce? (Florida's 2nd district, 28.5%; Alaska at large, 26.8%)
Which governors were contestants on The Dating Game? (Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California)
Where is the massive Army ammunition plant that was forced to add a night shift during the 2003 war in Iraq? (Oklahoma's 2nd district)
What is the ZIP code that produced nearly $6 million in campaign contributions in the 2001-02 election cycle, but not a penny to Republicans (90035, in California's 30th and 33rd districts)
Which district gave the world the characters from The Honeymooners, Saturday Night Fever, and The Three Stooges? (Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge neighborhoods in New York's 13th district)

NEXT STORY: Examining Excellence