Well, the primaries are upon us... in just a few days, we'll be caught up in the midst of the election. But first, a few words on the current state of the race:
On the Republican side, things are pretty close;
Romney is locked in a pretty fierce battle with Huckabee in Iowa; he's run an incredible campaign, but it's anyone's guess whether he'll be able to hold out. Personally, I have somewhat of a grudge against Romney, so I really, really hope he doesn't win. But we'll see...
Huckabee is a whole different matter; he's risen so far and fast that the big question now is whether he'll be able to maintain his successes, or whether his campaign will just collapse in on itself. So far, he's handled it pretty well, but it remains to be seen how far his momentum will be able to carry him. Personally, I think he's a nice guy, and really hope he does well; but it all depends on what happens in the next few months.
Guliani's fortunes have fallen of late, but it's not really much of a surprise; really, it's amazing he's been able to last this long. In any event, I'll be very surprised if he's much of a major player in the primaries.
McCain has made one heck of a comeback, from being declared officially dead earlier in the year to being locked in a nose-to-nose race with Romney in New Hampshire. I've personally supported McCain for quite some time, and it's been quite nice to see his political fortunes rising again. In my opinion, he is a good and honorable man, and the best qualified candidate to represent the Republican party; and I have high hopes that he'll be able to secure the nomination.
On the Democratic side, it's basically a three-way tie between Edwards-Clinton-Obama.
Edwards has some momentum, and is definitely a major contender in a lot of early states; but I have my doubts about his chances. I could be wrong though; again, we'll just have to wat and see.
Clinton is obviously the favorite, and for good reason, but she also has negatives larger than almost any candidate in history. It remains to be seen whether her experience and well-organized campaign will be enought to overcome this hostility.
Obama is young, smart, and energized, and he's certainly attracted the most enthusiasm of any major Democratic candidate; but, at the same time, he's also relatively inexperienced, and the sheer weight of the Clinton campaign may be enough to undo him.
In any event, a whole lot is riding on the outcome of this election, and so the Democratic and Republican nominee choices will be extremely important. I'd be interested in hearing what candidates all of you support...
