The Nigh Seen Creeder

Talkin' 'bout the New Hampshire Primary, here's what I said on Monday:

"When we wake up on Wednesday, neither the Democrat nor the Republican fat lady will've come anywhere close to singin'. Bank it. (Apologies to George Plaster.)"

To say that I was 100 percent correct is an understatement.

As the campaign moves toward Michigan, South Carolina, and Super-Duper Tuesday, Rich Galen, who is a paid consultant to Fred Thompson, gives us this excellent take:

"Having five more-or-less viable candidates as the process proceeds is, no matter how counterintuitive it sounds, good for party unity. If I am a fan of Fred Thompson (for whom I am a paid consultant) and my guy doesn’t make it out of South Carolina I will still have three or four other choices.

"As the process continues and the field winnows, there is a feeling that my candidate had a fair shot and I’ll get in behind the eventual nominee.

"The danger for the Democrats is this: When there are only two major contenders and they both stay in the race for a long time, support for each sets in and hardens into a very, very difficult bloc to crack apart.

"The 1976 Reagan and Ford factions on the GOP side have never reconciled. If you were in Iowa last week, you would still have seen evidence of the rift between the Ford moderates and the Reagan conservatives like geologic scars on the political landscape.

"If Hillary and Barack continue to whack each other through the February 5th Über-Tuesday primaries, past March 4 and into the Summer, the Democrats will have a very difficult time reconciling in time for next November’s Presidential election.

"They will hoot and cheer for the nominee at their convention in Colorado, but for slightly less than half of the delegates, their hearts won’t really be in it."