It looks as if McCain--once given up for dead by nearly everybody including me-- has it sewn up. Romney is fading, and Huckabee is becoming increasingly irrelevent.
That last point is worth mulling over: The Huckster was the go-to man of the Evangelical Right, and his campaign will almost certainly come to an end Tuesday. Will the GOP force the religious zealots who have dominated party politics to shut up and sit down? Can they afford to do so? Since 1980 these voters have formed the vital core of nearly every winning Republican effort.
(The Super bowl halftime show is on in the background: I wonder if Tom Petty got stoned before going on stage?)
I don't think Romney will go away quietly--if he can pull out a win in a few states he'll live to fight another day. But, if McCain runs the table the pressure will mount on Mitt to step aside so the GOP can rest up for the fall campaign.
Ron Paul has the resources to push on, but I think the GOP will try and get behind a winner early.
Complicating the affair is the aversion---even loathing---which many conservatives luminaries have voiced for McCain---including some very harsh statements from Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.
On the other side--Hillary still holds a nationwide lead, but Obama is trending positive everywhere. His rallies draw huge crowds, and his endorsement list continues to grow--garnering some key last-minute endorsements from the Kennedy clan (including a dramatic one by Maria Shriver), and his war chest just grew by an astonishing $32 million in January.
The Clinton team is taking measured steps to respond--trying to replicate their New Hampshire sucess at blunting Obama's momentum without overplaying their hand and alienting voters (as they did with diasaterous consquences here in South Carolina).
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