The larger question, of course, is whether the voters will buy it, too. The guess here is that, ultimately, they won’t. Royalism has never had that many fans on this side of the Atlantic. To the extent we’ve tried a similar idea recently — with the current president, a/k/a “Junior” — things haven’t exactly worked out in spectacular fashion.
Moreover, as we all know, if your spouse is your principal advisor, you can’t fire that advisor. (Well, okay, if you’re Rudy Giuliani or Fred Thompson, maybe you can.) With Hillary we get Bill, and, sooner or later, someone is going to start snapping voters out of their nostalgic reverie with constant reminders of all the scandals, all the women, and all the diversions that robbed Bill Clinton’s presidency of its energy.
Democrats should hope that this process occurs sooner rather than later. If general-election voters residing in a republic are given the choice between a Queen and a Republican — really any Republican — it’s pretty easy to guess which one they will pick.
RACING NOTES
On the GOP side, McCain moves up on the strength of an invigorated debate performance; Thompson continues to rise as he initially campaigns. The others all drop slightly. For the Democrats, Edwards secures a series of labor endorsements that help confirm his viability.
THE FIELD:
REPUBLICANS
RUDY GIULIANI
Odds: 2-1 | past week: 5-3
MITT ROMNEY
Odds: 4-1 | 3-1
FRED THOMPSON
Odds: 9-2 | 7-1
JOHN MCCAIN
Odds: 6-1 | 12-1
NEWT GINGRICH
Odds: 8-1 | 7-1
MIKE HUCKABEE
Odds: 25-1 | same
SAM BROWNBACK
Odds: 1000-1 | 500-1
TOM TANCREDO
Odds: 150,000-1 | same
DUNCAN HUNTER
Odds: 200,000-1 | same
RON PAUL
Odds: 200,000-1 | same
DEMOCRATS
BARACK OBAMA
Odds: 5-4 | past week: same
HILLARY CLINTON
Odds: 4-3 | same
JOHN EDWARDS
Odds: 7-1 | 8-1
BILL RICHARDSON
Odds: 100-1 | 65-1
JOE BIDEN
Odds: 200-1 | 75-1
CHRIS DODD
Odds: 250-1 | same
DENNIS KUCINICH
Odds: 100,000-1 | same
MIKE GRAVEL
Odds: 8 million to 1 | same
