Bloodless Coup

It'll Be a Republican Front Runner in 2008

So there's a little 2008 presidential race news this weekend - Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh has decided not to run, while former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating is publicly mulling a bid. But something that'll shape the race (on the Republican side) strikes me as still very much underreported. Basically, the Republicans are going to have a national primary, in a way we haven't seen before. They'll have Iowa and New Hampshire in late January, and then at least a dozen states will vote for the Republican nominee on February 5th (here's a list of those states - and keep in mind that other states are still considering moving to that day). Given the way that money and personnel are already being eaten up by and aligning with the McCain and Romney campaigns, and the requirements that'll come with that kind of national election, it's looking more and more like the Republican nominee will definitely be a favorite with good name ID and infrastructure. And at the moment I only see 4 people who can achieve that: McCain, Romney, Gingrich and Giuliani. And given that there'll surely be an anybody but Rudy turn in the race if he does well on the 5th of February, it's looking more and more like the nominee will be McCain, Romney or Gingrich.