I can't imagine Guilianni ever possibly winning the Republican primary, not so much cause of gay rights...but the really big reason those people hang around - abortion. With the religious right, it's all about abortion. And Guilliani is to them an "avowed baby killer." And another big reason - I don't think he'll have the national team necessary to win primaries.

I'd probably vote for John McCain though. Just because he talks to social conservatives doesn't make him a villian. They are people too. And he has voted against a Federal Marriage Amendment twice, which they know.

But the thing to remember is that historically Senators naturally get the itch to run for President of the United States, but in practice they always have a really hard time convincing the voters to elect them. There are some examples of Senators who have won election - John F Kennedy or Warren G Harding come to mind, but generally they go nowhere.

John Kerry and Barry Goldwater are recent examples of Senators who lost election for President. Senators just don't sell well to entire America. They appear aloof and long winded, and they are over in Washington all the time, never in their district.

That's why for Democrats I'd look at Governors like Bill Richardson of New Mexico, or one of those midwetern Democrat govs as serious contenders.

But really, we aren't even at the midterm electios yet. Handicapping is silly. And the Democrats could win Congress this year, if they ran on a unified platform to reform their institution to make them accountable for their spending. But all they are still doing is just running against Bush, defining themselves as what they are not.

I'm looking at today's New York Times which carries the funny headline: "Surprising Jump in Tax Revenues Curbs U.S. Deficit, Tops '05 by $250 Billion"

You have to laugh because the President's entire policy of lowering taxes over the past five years has been supposed to make tax revenues increase. But that kind of economic policy is unaknowledgable. So today's news is presented as a surprise. Compare that to New Jersey which is raising their taxes, on top of years of rising tax burdens, so the state's revenue woes always continue with just more of the same.

Steve