Quin, no crow need be ingested on my behalf. I do think overall the declared candidates have done more “substance” earlier in the race than in past years and there is no shortage of commitments, policies, plans and proposals to paw through. I always wonder how much weight even the informed primary voter places on these and how much is based on a more generic sense of the person, their record and their capabilities. For my money, in a post-George Bush election, competence and executive experience carry a lot of weight.

Phil, you hit the nail on the head. Since Romney and McCain (yes, he’s still in the race) put so much stock in the early states, a win or two by Giuliani could seal the race. It’s an odd situation where the race’s overall frontrunner would be the underdog and an upset winner in the early races but that is how things are shaping up.

I’ll be leaving today for a couple of weeks on the Left Coast but will continue to blog from time to time and try to report back on what Arnold is up to and whether the California GOP is on the rise.