If primaries really made America more democratic maybe we could accept them, even if they are wasteful and inefficient. But primaries aren't really democratic. The rallying cry against the evil forces of smoke-filled rooms and party machines was the infamous Hubert Humphrey nomination, when George McGovern was denied the nomination despite the public's support.

But the reality is that only a small minority of Americans actually participate in the primary selection process, as was so clearly demonstrated by yesterday's elections. According to Professor David King of the Kennedy School of Government, in 1966, 34 percent of eligible voters voted in primary elections. In 1988 the numbers had dropped to 17 percent of eligible voters. And in case you thought that primaries allow the common man a voice, King says that political moderates are staying away from the polls.

The main question, then, is whether we want to give power back to parties by allowing them to choose candidates and fund them (hopefully under new, stricter campaign finance laws), or whether we want to continue in the current descent towards candidate-driven elections where personality means more than policy and political extremists set the primary agenda (think Bob Jones University). Without a party to bind candidates to specific policies, clear goals and a coherent vision, candidates freewheel through campaigns on their smile, their handshake and their looks, catering to the extremists on either side before rushing to the middle--never mind the hypocrisy inherent in that.

Parties have been losing power as ticket-splitting voters become more prevalent. Candidates have developed their own networks of campaigners and fundraisers--primaries have become so front-loaded that a small number of voters, not party delegates, are picking candidates. Parties remain important conduits for funds to candidates, but they don't really bind them to an ideology anymore. This means that voters have a harder time deciding based on policy.

Without strong parties with clear ideologies, Americans lose out on substantive policy debates. The Green Party and the Reform Party for instance, have strong counterparts in Europe where parties have strength, but lack a significant voice in our elections. Without these parties playing a part in policy debates voters lose out.

Without primaries, all this will change. But for now, at least the politicians themselves are bravely soldiering on. Massachusetts voters decided to stay home, but Representative Alice K. Wolf of north and west Cambridge busily worked to get people out to vote. Seemingly oblivious to the waste of time, energy and money that were yesterday's primaries, her campaign headquarters were buzzing with activity, focused on beating the most inscrutable of political opponents--voter apathy.