It is definitely time for Fred Thompson to go, maybe the most disappointing campaign of unmet potential I've ever seen. Maybe even time for Rudy Guiliani to go also. Getting no more than 3-5% in 4 states and counting is starting to get old. Rudy really serves no purpose that isn't served better by McCain. Rudy in 2008 is such a November 2001 idea anyway. There is absolutely no way either one of them gets 51% of the delegates: Rudy can't win in enough places, and not enough are winner take all anyway.

To me, Mitt's big win tonight (42 delegates down, 1149 to go!.... He won't be ahead by Super Tuesday... and I don't think Tuesday will be all that Super for him as I read the list of those 20 states...) is not all that big, but it does start to shape this as a 3 way race. Huckabee seems to be around for one purpose and 1 purpose only, and that is stopping Romney. Is there a single state of the Old Confederacy that Mitt can possibly win? It isn't just South Carolina and Florida that he has essentially split from; Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi.. I mean, Huck will get most of that, McCain some. Romney bits and pieces at best. Romney gets the money vote. McCain the war vote and the moderate vote (if such a faction exists). Huckabee gets the religious vote.

Very likely it will drag on all Spring and Summer and go to the Convention. Neither Romney nor Huckabee will be able to get 51% before then in any plausible scenario (As Robert Redford might say; we couldn't reasonably say it with a straight face. We didn't go to the MTC like Romney did.) Maybe just maybe McCain can get there, but probably not.

The real juicy question is if the GOP Convention will turn to someone else if McCain comes in there with something like 44%, Romney 25%, and Huck 20%?

So the battle shapes up. Huck & Paul around to entertain, but, as I heard it put best; it is now on:

GI Joe vs. Ken