With the Dems, we all know it's going to be Hillary, Obama, or Edwards. And there isn't a great deal of difference between them. And most democrats don't seem to strongly favor any one over another, and would be happy enough with any of them. For the most part, the supporters of those candidates will likely fall in behind whoever ends up winning the Dem primary without too much complaint.

But the republicans are all over the map. Talk about a splintered divisive group! I think that largely comes from the unholy alliance of fiscally conservative business interests and right-wing social conservatives who often have opposing views on a lot of issues. Plus quasi-libertarian blimp pilot Ron Paul. The divisiveness is reflected in the polls too. Giuliani had a strong early lead but is sagging now. McCain all but dropped out a few months ago, but seems to be gaining ground again. Fuckabee came out of almost complete obscurity and is suddenly now the darling of the religious fundies. Ron Paul, despite never breaking single digits, has scored some fundraising coups (and he has a blimp!!!). This could be anybody's race. Best of all, the republicans have the larger chance of splintering off a third party candidate, or having angry constituents staying home on election day. This is definitely the race to watch.

Stop it.

Reality has a liberal bent.

That's technically true, but unfortunately they're all tripping over one another to make themselves less interesting and appeal to the 24% who still like Bush.

It would be a fascinating debate if McCain, Giuliani, Romney, and Paul all gave their vision of where the party should go. But except for Paul, they're all papering over their past to pretend they're the second coming of Reagan.