First, interesting, we're the same age.
Second, our experiences with primaries have been skewed, the only really contested Republican primary we've seen was the 2008 primary.
You guys would put me in the "De Selby" camp back in 1996 and probably 2000 as well. Didn't pay a lot of attention to either GOP primary, though I understood the significance of the political process and respected it. I was effectively a closet anti-establishmentarian, masquerading as a Democrat because it seemed to be the anti-establishment party... though it's pretty obvious now that the party I favor is actually whatever party wants to axe entire departments from the goobermint payroll. That's Libertarian at my current political knowledge level, but in my cupidity when i was younger it was the donkey party. I'm involved with the GOP to try and change it from within as a PC.
I agree that the GOP should give less than a rat's *expletive deleted*ss about IA and NH. IA tends to go Dem anyways since farmers are corrupt corporate kleptocrats relying on archaic farm subsidies that corporations now leech off of, and NH (despite its wonderful "live free or die" State motto) is irrelevant in its electoral college count.
The primary system is becoming sports-style wonk entertainment, and big money is flowing into it and "stars" are getting created. I don't like it at all.
And it's further insulted by the fact that it's the "right thing to do" to pay attention to the political process and be a "good citizen" by participating in the election cycle.
So, in the opinion of the APS body... is Cain an actual contender? Or just an appetizer, to be chewed up and digested by the sports-style wonk entertainment machine, prior to the main course of the "World Series Superbowl Stanley Cup" of the POTUS election?