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The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee want to change the way the Democratic Party chooses its presidential nominee.

The campaign and DNC today "announced a proposal to establish a special commission to recommend changes to the Democratic Party's rules for delegate selection and presidential primary timing for future presidential cycles," according to an Obama press release.

The proposed “Democratic Change Commission” would focus on three areas: "changes to the opening of the window and pre-window"; lowering the total number of superdelegates, the party insiders and elected officials who have the power to swing who becomes the nominee; and changing the caucus system.

In a separate email to CBSNews.com, Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro elaborated on the proposed "changes to the opening of the window and pre-window":

"First, the primaries and caucuses began too early, causing instability in the election calendar and resulting in elections that were too close to the Christmas and New Year holidays," Shapiro wrote. "So, we are recommending that our nominating rules be amended so that no primary or caucus can be held prior to the first Tuesday in March, except for the four pre-window states."

"Obama continues to believe in the important role that Iowa and New Hampshire have historically played in the process of choosing our party’s Presidential Nominee and the important early role Nevada and South Carolina had in 2008," Shapiro added.

He also wrote that in this election cycle, "too many states piled up on the first day of the calendar window, with 22 primaries and caucuses being held on Feb 5."

"We are asking the Democratic Party to review this frontloading and look for a workable solution to reduce it," Shapiro wrote.

The proposal to establish the commission will be presented Saturday in Denver to the Convention Rules Committee.

Puerto Rico's Democratic Party has changed plans for its nominating contest, switching from a caucus to a primary in order to take advantage of all the excitement, the AP reports. "If Puerto Rico is going to play such a significant role, we should give the world a showcase of democracy," said the territory's Democratic chairman Roberto Prats said. "We
know how to vote, we vote in masses and I think it's Puerto Rico's show time."

The territory's 55 pledged delegates will certainly draw attention from the candidates as they head to the final stretch of the primary season. But Prats says their contest has always been scheduled for June 1st, not the 7th as primary calendars have reported. He says the confusion resulted from a typo in the official document originally sent to the national party. That makes South Dakota and Montana the last states to weigh in on the fight on June 3rd – at least until we hear what Florida and Michigan will do.

Last weekend we gave you a peak at how Hawaii was revving up, or rather slowly mobilizing, for Tuesday's caucuses. We got that courtesy of a first-hand look by CBS News' director of surveys Kathy Frankovic. Fortunately for us (but perhaps not for her), Kathy was back in the New York nerve center for Tuesday's events but her husband, Hal Glatzer was back on the Big Island and he gives us a report from his precinct, which Barack Obama won by a 867 to 292 margin:

Hilo, Hawaii -- Everyone knew why they were there. But until the precinct officers unboxed the sign-in sheets and ballots, none of the 200 or so Democrats in this neighborhood knew how their caucus would be run. Three precincts were squeezed into a community center that, in an off-year, would be too big for even one of them. Confused and unsure about what to do, yet eager to do it, voters filled every chair; standees crowded shoulder-to-shoulder around them.

And still more people kept arriving; asking the ones in front of them what was going on inside. By 7 p.m., all the registered Democrats were logged in, all the new Party members were welcomed, and the ballots were distributed. (Printed weeks ahead, they still offered Kucinich and Edwards alongside Clinton and Obama.) Amazingly, no one did any electioneering; few caucus-goers sported candidates' buttons, and there were no speeches at all.

Everyone knew who they had come to vote for, and did so quickly. But only after the first 50 or so of those inside had cast their ballots and left the building could the rest of the crowd come through the door, sign in, and vote.

Democracy was certainly a messy business, in Hawaii Tuesday night.

Kathy Frankovic, director of surveys for CBS News provides a first-hand glimpse at how the presidential race has yet to reach a fevered pitch in laid-back Hawaii, a state holding caucuses tomorrow:

Hilo, Hawaii -- Last week, the state of Maryland had to keep its polls open to account for a snowstorm that created traffic gridlock. Last week, it rained on much of Hawaii, but the weather will be different for Tuesday’s caucuses. The only snow is on top of the volcanic mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It’s February on the Big Island.

The Big Island of Hawaii boasts the state’s second largest city – but Hilo’s 40,000 or so population is dwarfed by Honolulu’s more than 300,000.

There is campaigning – radio ads from Hawaii’s native son Barack Obama – and the ads end by reminding listeners that all (or at least most) politics is local: “Barack Obama is Hawaii's chance to elect a native son president.” They begin with Obama himself: "Almost 50 years ago, my family came to Hawaii in search of a better life. I was born here, and grew up here. This beautiful state and its great people hold a special place in my heart.”

There are the usual political divisions here: the Hawaii Government Employees Association’s parent union AFSCME, has endorsed Clinton. Chelsea Clinton is in Honolulu (where in Hawaiian tradition she was festooned with leis at the opening of a community health center clinic), will work a phone bank at the union, and will then travel to Maui. Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Eng, lives in Honolulu, and has been campaigning for Obama.

But the politics of the caucus hasn’t quite reached most of Hilo. Three days before another in a series of critical delegate selection events, there are no yard signs, no campaign headquarters, no campaign presence at the Mall or at Saturday’s downtown farmer’s market, or at the celebration of the Chinese New Year. There, children competing in the costume contest are described, as Obama might have been when he was a boy, by their own mostly diverse ethnic backgrounds. For example, one contestant was described as Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino and German.

Despite the apparent lack of typical politicking, turnout is expected to be high.

Voters in Iowa (and New Hampshire) are a defensive bunch when it comes to their "first-in-the-nation" status. It's one reason why candidates were so willing to pledge to avoid campaigning in Michigan and Florida when both states jumped ahead in the primary calendar.

So a few eyebrows were probably raised when one of Hillary Clinton's most prominent backers, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, lashed out against not only Iowa's spot on the calendar, but also its arcane caucus process – something of which the state's Democrats are very proud.

According to the Associated Press, Strickland called the caucuses "hugely undemocratic" and, because they require attendance at a certain time, intentionally exclude those who might be working or are too old or too sick to get to the caucus venue.

"I'd like to see both parties say, 'We're going to bring this to an end,'" Strickland told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Monday. His comments came only days after campaigning for Clinton in Iowa over the weekend.

John Edwards' presidential campaign is setting out to dispel the myth that it's an Iowa-only organization, releasing on Monday a lengthy list of "key leaders and advisors" in states that will hold contests on Feb. 5 – more than 20 states will vote that day, so many that the Democratic nomination could effectively be decided when the night is through.

However, the list is not exactly overwhelming: Only nine of those states are represented, and some of them have very few names listed. For example, in New Mexico, only attorney general (and possible U.S. Senate candidate) Patricia Madrid is identified as leading Edwards' organization in the state.

Edwards is also a victim of circumstance: Two of the biggest states up for grabs on Feb. 5, Illinois and New York, should be firmly behind Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, respectively. Still, the release is an indication that the campaign is trying to convince pundits and voters alike that its not an Iowa-only operation – even though, in terms of where Edwards himself has traveled in the past four years, that's close to the truth.

The campaign might also be trying to respond to claims made by Barack Obama's organization today. According to CBS News political consultant Marc Ambinder, Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, in a conference call, said, "Sen. Edwards will have no operation to speak of in the Feb. 5 states. I believe Sen. Clinton has political or field organizations in five or six of those states. We have, I believe, 17 of the 22 states covered."

Edwards is also touting support he's received from labor unions and legislators in the Feb. 5 states, as well as the fact that organizing calls have been held in all those states. He's even playing the celebrity card, quoting in the release former Georgia congressman Ben Jones – better known for playing Cooter on "The Dukes Of Hazzard."

"Poll after poll shows John Edwards to be by far our strongest Democratic candidate in the general election," Jones said. "I’m not supporting John Edwards because of polls, but those same surveys show that John Edwards can win in the so-called ‘red states’ and that’s exciting to me."

Lawmakers in Massachusetts wrapped up the 2007 legislative session last night and, as the Boston Globe notes, they did so by passing legislation to join the 21 other states that will hold presidential nominating contests on Feb. 5 – nicknamed Super Tuesday, Super-Duper Tuesday or Tsunami Tuesday, depending on the source.

Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick says he'll sign the legislation -- though keep in mind that Rhode Island's governor said he wouldn't block a move to Feb. 5, only to come out with a surprise veto. But assuming Patrick sticks to his pledge, he and the legislature, overwhelmingly comprised of Democrats, may have given help to a Republican: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Massachusetts will provide but a tiny portion of the delegates up for grabs on Feb. 5, but, assuming Romney is still in the running, every little bit will help -- especially since current poll numbers suggest it's possible the GOP race will still have no clear front-runner by then.

As for the Democrats, expect Patrick to try to deliver his state to the candidate he's endorsed, Barack Obama.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner has heard the question asked in every possible way, by a multitude of reporters: When will New Hampshire hold its presidential primary?

But even with the endgame of the primary shuffle in sight, Gardner remains tight-lipped, and says he's waiting on the outcome of the legal battle in Michigan over its planned Jan. 15 primary. "It doesn't serve any useful purpose to speculate about this," he told CBSNews.com. "I don't have some flow chart here. This has been a long and winding road."

On Monday, Michigan's attorney general filed a petition asking the state's Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that legislation creating a Jan. 15 primary is unconstitutional because it would restrict public access to voter data. Meanwhile, the state's legislature could pass a revised version of the bill to pass legal muster – though prospects for that are unclear because of divisions among Democrats who control the state House.

Gardner says he's really only concerned with Michigan's Democratic Party, which has been more steadfast in its desire to hold a Jan. 15 primary than the state GOP. If Democrats somehow end up holding a primary on Jan. 15, Gardner says New Hampshire would hold its primary no later than Jan. 8 – though Gardner won't commit to that date outright. "There's been so many twists and turns that it's impossible to think of all the possible scenarios," he said.

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Sen. Carl Levin has a problem with the Granite State.

The Politico reports that the Michigan Democrat is threatening to hold Michigan's presidential nominating contest on the same day that New Hampshire holds its primary.

Why? The present, "cockamamie" primary system isn't in the best interest of America.

“No state should have that dominant a role,” Levin said at a breakfast with reporters, Politico reports. “New Hampshire has a hammerlock, folks.”

Levin's plan would entail holding a caucus for Michigan Democrats on whatever day New Hampshire decides to hold its primary. (That date still up in the air, because New Hampshire has been biding its time in order to protect of its traditional role as the state that holds the nation's first primary.)

As Politico points out, New Hampshire is very good at organizing its primary quickly once a date is set, and that might make things tough for Levin. New Hampshire Secretary of state Bill Gardner is threatening to hold the primary as early as December 4.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is saying he wants New Hampshire and Iowa (which holds caucuses, not a primary) to maintain their front of the line position in the nominating process, the Associated Press reports.

But he also says that he wants all Republican delegates seated at next year's GOP National Convention. The Republican National Committee is threatening to punish a number of states, including New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida, for setting their primaries in January or earlier by stripping them of half their delegates. (Iowa, despite its early caucus, formally selects its delegates later.)

``I would like to see all the delegates seated, but I also want to protect the Iowa first, New Hampshire second process,'' Romney said in South Carolina.

The Iowa Republican and Democratic parties are expected to set a date for their caucuses early next week, sources tell CBS News. Though members of the state GOP committee met last Friday, the meeting was informal and did not yield an official recommendation regarding a caucus date, a source in the state said. The two dates being considered are Jan. 3 and Jan. 5, 2008.

Sources in both parties characterize the relationship between Iowa Democrats and Republicans as cooperative, and say they are working together to set a date for the caucuses. Iowa's contest is expected to be the first statewide nominating contest in the nation, and many of the front-runners are campaigning in the state this week.