It's already been written endlessly what a train wreck this year's front-loaded process has become. Yesterday Roger Simon in the Politico raised the possibility that New Hampshire might move its primary into December, so it would take place before the Iowa caucuses.

That would be a huge mistake. Bill Gardner, the New Hampshire Secretary of State who will make the decision, should take it off the table immediately.

That's because changing the order of the contests would change the outcome of the process in both parties. For better or worse, for the last 36 years or so we've had a process that allows relative long shots to have a go at the front-runners in the first contest or two. For the most part, no long shot has won the nomination since 1976 with Jimmy Carter. But it's the process that all the candidates assumed would be operative when they began running this year.

If New Hampshire goes before Iowa, it's pretty clear what will happen. John Edwards can kiss his chances of winning the nomination goodbye, as can Mike Huckabee, not to mention all the third-tier candidates. Mitt Romney is going to wonder why he spent millions trying to secure a victory in an Iowa contest whose importance will now be diminished. Those Republicans who have decided to deemphasize Iowa, such as John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, will reap a windfall. It certainly won't hurt Hillary Clinton either, since her lead in New Hampshire over the other candidates appears to be far greater than it is in Iowa.

In fact, if Gardner makes New Hampshire first, it will certainly look to some as if he's out to do a favor for one candidate or another. We don't need to start 2008 with that sort of cloud. If Iowa is going to go right after the New Year, New Hampshire can schedule its contest for January 8th. And then, we can stop worrying about calendars and start focusing on what counts.

To read Steven Stark's complete "Presidential Tote Board" blog, go to www.thephoenix.com/toteboard/