>But it's also a way to get people familiar with the candidates early on. That is largely what it is all about. It is basically theater. All the rules are made

>But it's also a way to get people familiar with the candidates early on. That is largely what it is all about. It is basically theater. All the rules are made by the political parties themselves whether their own rules or by the state laws they have voted for. In the 1800s they just nominated whomever they wanted (and this is basically what the smaller political parties do since they are so small they don't have the money to do these long extended campaigns) but then they started doing the primaries and caucuses to give people input.