Remember when a presidential race was a one-year event?

John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy on January 2, 1960, and was elected that November. Earlier this month, would-be candidates still mulling a run in 2008 were being accused of reckless delay.

According to the New York Times, presidential campaign pundits were saying that if Hillary Rodham Clinton waited another minute to announce her run, rival Barack Obama would officially lock up every influential committee member and deep-pocketed donor.

This is an election on speed.

Part of this is due to the peculiarities of the race. President Bush is so unpopular that a power vacuum is opening, and both parties’ nominations are wide open for the first time in ages. The Internet is also fueling the insanity, as we saw signs of in 2004.

The biggest factors, though, are money and an ever-compressed schedule. The California primary may be moved to early February, and Illinois, Florida and New Jersey may attempt the same. Candidates are in a rush to lock up big donors, bypassing the public finance system in the process.

Clinton has already made clear that she is opting out for both the primary and the general election. Even John McCain, a major supporter of campaign finance reform no longer sponsoring a major reform bill that once bore his name, seems likely to do the same.

But the problem with the 23-month campaign is not just the fatigue it will inspire, but the effect on democracy. Bundlers — the fundraisers who package individual contributions into big ones — have even more power.

There is no way to stop candidates from hurling their hats into the ring so early. But there are things that can, and should, be done:

• The national parties should step in and halt every state’s mad dash to have first-in-the-nation primaries, and adopt the schedule that some have been proposing for years - regional primaries that rotate, so all voters eventually have a turn to be among the first.
• Congress should fix the broken public financing system, which has not been significantly updated since it was adopted in 1974. Experts now say a run for the presidency requires a $100 million entry fee. Public funding caps limit candidates to less than half that. Spending limits need to be raised.
• More cash and flexibility need to be available to help those who accept public funds compete with candidates who opt out.

If Hillary vs. Obama vs. Rudy Giuliani vs. McCain is already starting to feel old, hey, at least there are more than 600 days to go.

It will never be like the old days when the presidential campaign unfolded by the handshake in New Hampshire and Iowa. But Congress and the parties can set a more reasonable, 21st-century pace.