Update on 2008

Rob Morrow happily sent along this Dick Morris campaign update - Hillary blunders.

On the GOP side, the leading contenders are the least conservative ones, Rudy gaining while McCain is fading, and the base is restless - looking for "Mr Right". Third in most polling is former Gov Mitt Romney, with Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, and Sam Brownback in the fray but getting less traction. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich plays Hamlet and may possibly jump in later. Giving new meaning to the term "Law and Order" Conservative, it may well be former Senator Fred Thompson who jumps in to shake up the race.

Seton Motley at "News of the Day" makes the conservative case for Rudy, but I'm not buying the many excuses for Rudy's deviations from conservative views. We have other options. For example, a conservative case for Romney can be made, based on his positions and business and executive leadership experience. Romney is wooing the conservative base, as his announcement speech shows. Rudy is selling himself via celebrity - no debates, no negotiation, and McCain has been arguing with the base for so long, both he and his act are getting too old.

The bottom line: The Republican Presidential nomination race is wide open; no candidate has really 'made the sale', nor can they until we've gone through the rigors of debates and more campaigning. The widest race will also be the earliest, as big state primaries have moved up to February 2008.