Oh, primary season, you are fantastic.

As we hunker down in our San Francisco apartment, primary night coverage brings me right back to the low ceilings and wood panels of our favorite DC taverns. Packed full of men and women in suits yet quiet-as-a-pin-drop taverns serving up greasy french fries, seared tuna, and acidic wine. (DC: where the in-crowd watches political coverage obsessively and knows every representative’s name. (Ok, maybe not representatives (got to look for the pin) but definitely senators.))

Have you heard that other country’s presidential elections only take a couple months? Where’s the fun in that? Where’s the endurance?

Oh, primary season, where every week we get a fresh batch of folksy reporter-on-the-ground news stories covering pancake breakfasts and church luncheons. Every week, each state gets the chance to be the most important, until they are promptly and summarily dismissed in favor of the next one. Yes, what are the people in Iowa New Hampshire Nevada saying?

Then there all the odd talking points that emerge through the course of the winter and spring. The problem conservatives are having with Trump, you see, is that he’s not conservative enough. When all this time, did anyone suspect the problem with Trump was moderation?

On primary nights, we get to watch Serious Wolf pretend any of this is new/surprising to him after two decades of covering presidential elections. John King and his Big Screen, introducing us to districts we never knew we cared so much about (he makes it possible for you to turn to your newest election night friend and smartly note, “you know, it’s all going to come down to that 14th district in Virginia. It’s a divided district, so it could go either way.”) Then there’s Anderson Cooper, whose poker face sometimes slips to reflect a nation’s confusion at whatever those beguiling CNN analysts are saying.

It’s all kind of my favorite.

Happy primary season, everyone! Get out there and vote!