THEY'RE AT THE GATE...BUT WILL FRED THOMPSON WIN, PLACE, OR SHOW?

Now that Newt's out of the presidential business, it looks like the republican field is complete. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, like people realizing Hillary's a Marxist and Rudy's really a democrat, I think these two will remain at the top.

There's a couple items that haven't fully developed that could impact their front-runner status: Oprah and Fred Thompson.

With the most influential woman in America backing Obama, one could expect a shift in support Obama's way. At the very least, it'll be interesting to see how "Her Royal Pantsuit" deals with this threat.

Did you know that Fred Thompson is running? It was in all the papers. Well, he is, but we haven't seen "Fred the Candidate" yet. He hasn't participated in a debate, so we don't have a clue how he'll hold up against his fellow competitors.

Personally, I don't have a good feeling about Rudy; Mitt is way too slick; and McCain's resting comfortably in political ICU. That said, I'll wait to see how Fred presents himself, and I'm hoping he does well.

Peter Mulhern has an article at Real Clear Politics that explains why he thinks Fred can win. Could he be right?