Narrow the Field
by Ryan Sager
Wed, 16 May 2007 at 9:15 AM
updated Wed, 16 May 2007 at 9:17 AM
After watching last night's debate, one can't help but wonder ... when will Jim Gilmore drop out? And Ron Paul. And Duncan Hunter. And Tom Tancredo. And Tommy Thompson. And Mike Huckabee. And Sam Brownback.
All of these men are wasting time and space at the debates and in the campaign. However, since they never had a chance coming in, how and when will they know it's time to exit?
What's more, who will be helped by their exits?
Over at NRO, John Hood speculates that a narrowing of the field will hurt Rudy Giuliani, who's only benefiting from the current, fractured situation. I'm relatively sure that nothing could be further from the truth.
I hate to beat the point into the ground, but Mr. Giuliani is the top second-choice candidate in any poll I've seen measure second choices. That means that a lot of voters who are supporting 2nd and 3rd tier candidates will shift over to Mr. Giuliani when the field narrows. Does that mean he's a shoe-in? Of course not. But he's in a far stronger position than some social conservatives are ready to accept.
Everyone figured Rudy wasn't going to get in. Then they figured he'd implode upon contact with sunlight. Now they think he's doomed because — well, because they want him to be. They've been wrong so far. And I think they'll continue to be wrong for some time yet.
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