The First Wednesday After the First Tuesday

The President returned to the White House late that night to cope with history. History...would not care at all that the Cards won the World Series that day by 4 to 3. —Theodore White, Making of the President 1964, regarding the events of 10/15/64 On December 15, 1991, six Democratic presidential candidates met in New Hampshire for a debate in advance of that state's first-in-the-nation primary, which was two months away. Most of them included in their closing statements some variation on "happy holidays," which got my attention more than anything specific Bob Kerrey, Paul Tsongas, Tom Harkin, Doug Wilder, Jerry Brown or eventual nominee and president Bill Clinton promised that night. "Happy holidays"? In a presidential primary? This is all wrong, I thought. There are election campaigns, there's Election Day — the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November — and then there's your pile-up of Christmas and Chanukah and New Year's, al...