Well, you know who I would like to see get the nomination, and the reason is that I think it would help change some (not all) of the discourse out there--but I don't see that happening.

Romney, who has been touted as "Republican Presidential Front-runner" at all times, even when polls showed he was not, has failed to overcome the label "great white nope." I'll be surprised if he gets it.

Perry, who was touted as the top candidate from the moment he tossed his hat into the race until, oh, the minute he started speaking in the debates, seems dead in the water. I'll be shocked if he gets it.

Cain, whose fortunes changed when the previous two fellows started to sputter, now seems ready to drop from sight amid a cloud of scandal. Maybe this is just smoke and mirrors, as he prepares for a triumphal return to the debate stage. But either way, I can't imagine him getting past the scandals at this point. (And if he does, there is still his history as a lobbyist and also as a Federal Reserve banker to get past.)

Newt . . . is Newt. I shudder to think of the attack ads that this man's past will bring. Maybe he will get the nomination, but not if the Republicans want to win.

So, yeah, it would surprise me less (than the above) to see the party suddenly hoist in some new deus ex machina to take this nomination.

Still a few days to go . . . and political fortunes these days seem to be measured in very short spans. So, who knows?

h4.5