And The Field Narrows

As of today, one month remains until Iowa kicks off their Presidential caucuses, helping to determine the course of the Presidential nomination. And as of today, the GOP field is a little smaller. Herman Cain announced he is suspending his campaign, I can only assume because of the previous post I wrote, On Herman Cain. Or maybe it had something to do with allegations that have been leveled against him. Whichever it really is, he is blaming the media. Mr. Cain has declared he will be endorsing a candidate in the near future, and I have a prediction on that front. I believe it will be one of the following three candidates:

Mitt Romney: Because he has business experience, has the best chance of beating President Obama (according to the conventional wisdom, anyway), but mostly because he endorsed Governor Romney back in 2008.

Newt Gingrich: There seems to be some mutual love between the fellow Georgians. They had a friendly, "Lincoln-Douglas" style debate where they were in agreement on most of the issues.

Michele Bachmann: This is the wildcard out there. The Bachmann campaign is the only one to let it be known that the Cain campaign contacted them today, prior to Cain's announcement. Trying to help a woman seems to be Cain's weakness, and I imagine he thinks it could help him with his image with women. Also, she has a perception of being an "Washington outsider." And lastly, the Bachmann campaign posted a very nice message about Cain's suspension of his campaign on Facebook immediately following his announcement.


Later today, the Des Moines Register will be releasing the results of new poll numbers in Iowa. The Des Moines Register is a newspaper in Des Moines, Iowa which has a reputation for having their finger on the pulse of Iowa voters most accurately. They have already released Herman Cain's numbers (8%).

Here are where the remaining candidates stand in Iowa, not including the numbers that will be released in several hours. This ranking is based on the RealClearPolitics.com average found here.

Gingrich
Romney
Paul
Bachmann
Perry
Santorum
Huntsman

In the next few weeks, I plan to break down each candidate and how I believe Iowans should vote. I leave you with the following quote from John Quincy Adams:

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.