Though he's still marginally ahead of the pack, Rudy Giuliani's "blow up the Earth" platform doesn't seem to be protecting his lead in the polls for the Republican nomination. Over the course of this year, he's dropped from 53 percent to 19 percent -- a loss of 34 points. But I thought the GOP wanted to blow up the Earth! Indeed, I've got to cop to total confusion over what will happen with the Republicans. I used to think Mitt Romney would win because had a hammerlock on the early states. But then Mike Huckabee took him down. Then I figured Mike Huckabee would blunt Romney, and throw the nomination to Giuliani. But Huckabee seems to be robbing Giuliani of his support. The potentially obvious solution here is that Mike Huckabee will win, but since no one can say that without breaking into convulsive rips of laughter, that also seems unlikely. My tentative prediction is that Romney actually ekes out a win in Iowa and New Hampshire, and because his victory was no longer expected, gets enough of a media bounce to capture the nomination. But, honestly, I have no idea. Maybe McCain mounts an upset in New Hampshire and gets another look. Then, of course, there's the brokered convention scenario. Since the media always predicts these and they never happen, I've basically given up on them as impossible. But imagine the GOP's bosses could choose a ticket from the safety of a smoke-filled room. And imagine, for the sake of this game, that they can't choose anyone currently running for president. What dream ticket do they come up with?
