Hillary v. ??? Hillary v. ???

Right now, I don't see how any Democrat can overtake Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. Obama is too inexperienced and is making novice level mistakes. Edwards is a blatant hypocrite, and an experienced lightweight as well. Richards is the most qualified, but can't get traction and isn't photogenic.

Sure, some of these impressions may be false, but where do they come from? The fact that the Clinton team (with the help of the MSM) has managed to infect the electorate with these impressions is significant in itself. That they are that vulnerable indicates that Hillary and the rest of the Democrats are competing on different playing fields.

Which means that it is likely that Hillary will be Democratic nominee. The question then is how well can any of the Republicans stand up against the onslot that the other Democratic candidates are withering before. I don't see McCain being able to maintain his temper long enough, and being likely to lose it when pressed. While I like Romney, I see him as fairly brittle. Maybe not, but we shall see. Guliani maybe. But he bailed instead of running against her in 2000 for the NY Senate seat. Right now, my money would be on Fred Thompson. But he really hasn't taken that much flack yet, from either side.

But then, picking a nominee that could beat Hillary would possibly be making the same mistake that the Democrats made in 2004 - somehow John Kerry convinced a lot of people that he was the only one who could beat President Bush. Who knows how he did that, but he did. So, he got the nomination, despite the fact that a number of serious Democratic contenders didn't have his Vietnam ere baggage.