PEE DEE POLITICS: GOP primary builds to early, anti-climactic conclusion

Following the presidential primary for the past year has been like climbing the hill of a very tall roller coaster. The anticipation keeps building and building and when you finally reach the top of the hill everyone screams, “This is it!” And we all brace for the thrilling free fall of that first hill.

But there are some roller coasters that trick you. Instead of granting you the satisfaction of a delightful, adrenaline packed joy ride, they just dip a little and then square you towards the real drop, that big hill we all look forward to.

That’s basically what these primaries are turning into. The more things go on the more it looks like that big hill is never going to come.

While the Iowa Caucuses last Tuesday were exciting, it had the meaning of a NFL preseason football game: there wasn’t any.

The slim margin separating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was fun to witness, but since no national delegates were awarded to anyone, neither candidate drew closer to the 1,144 needed to secure the nomination.

There were consequences to the caucus results, especially for Rep. Michelle Bachmann who ended her campaign the next day.

Then again, did anyone really think Bachmann was ever a serious contender for the GOP nomination? We all knew she would drop out; it was just a matter of when.

Again, there was great entertainment and educational value to Iowa. I stayed up until about three in the morning following Twitter feeds on my Blackberry and am not ashamed to say had a grand old time doing so, but when the dust settled, neither Romney nor Santorum seemed like they cared who won the tight, tight race.

With no delegates at stake, why should they? They’ve got New Hampshire and its real, breathing delegates to look forward to this week.

But prepare for disappointment again, because New Hampshire will be far from exhilarating.

The only “surprise” we can expect is if Romney wins the state by less than 20 points. Other than that, it is basically a foregone conclusion that ol’ Mitt will “Live Free” and another campaign will die, probably that of former Utah. Gov. Jon Huntsman.

Which will bring us to South Carolina Jan. 21: the first real contest; however, even that is becoming more like spinning tea-cups than a top-thrill event.

The latest polls show the enormous lead of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich eroding and like the Rick Perry bubble before it, will eventually “pop” and result in a Romney take over.

We can take solace in the fact the polls got Iowa wrong, but with the way the caucusing goes there I’m not sure even the caucus goers knew what the hell was going on. Expect polling for the traditional, voting primaries to be a little more accurate.

I hope that I’m wrong, but this long climb to the top of the roller coaster may not have a payoff.

We may have reached the top of the hill only to realize there isn’t anyplace else to go.