Like the yearly change of the seasons, the arrival of a Presidential election year tends to bring certain subjects to the fore, only to see them quickly recede and then lay dormant for, oh another four years.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) on Thursday served up two of The Greatest Hits of Election Reform Ideas, reiterating his support for a series of rotating regional Presidential primaries and a plan to scrap the Electoral College. 

Both have been floated before, both have been part of calls for major change in the US election system and both seem unlikely to be approved anytime soon by the Congress and/or the American people.

The idea of getting rid of the Electoral College has been around for awhile, maybe since the Framers cobbled it together and then belatedly realized that they had a problem when two candidates on the same ticket got the same number of votes.

As I scratch my head to try to remember a time when it might have been ripe to have a debate about the idea of having the Electoral College decide a President versus a simple majority of US voters....hmmmm....I wonder when that was....

"What was the 2000 post-election fight in Florida?"  (Applause.)

"I'll take US Election Reform Ideas for $200, Alex.

Yes, it hasn't even been eight full years since my brain overloaded on the Bush v Gore fight in Florida that stretched into December and all the way to the US Supreme Court.

And yet, the idea of getting rid of the Electoral College is no closer to having a chance now as in the immediate aftermath of that Bloody Battle.

As for the idea of rotating Presidential Primaries to "share the wealth" of the attention devoted to the selection process, it is a solid idea.

Why should Iowa and New Hampshire and other states dominate the process?

Answer - because they do.

This one has been tried before as well, and while maybe there will be a day when lawmakers in both parties agree on how best to conduct the primaries and caucuses without having them start in another calendar year, I wouldn't bet on this plan getting through the Congress either.

For Good Government Types, it makes great sense.

In the Grand Scheme of Politics, it might be nothing more than daydreaming.