This week brought even more major league defections from the Presidential primary campaigns of Republican candidates, this time its John McCain (again) and (unannounced) Fred Thompson, although Rudy has lost his share to the law of late. Leaves one wondering just who will be left when it actually comes time for right-wingers to vote?

Pawn finds this all vaguely reminiscent of the Summer of 2004, when one Barack Obama was running for US Senate from Illinois, the seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald, and his opponent Jack Ryan had spent a small fortune to wrap up the Republican primary against well qualified opponents. Ryan’s campaign flamed out amid allegations by his ex-wife, actress and Star Trek bombshell Jeri Ryan, that he had forced her to go to sex clubs. After Ryan finally heeded the calls of his party, and dropped out of the race, the Republicans had a mad time finding a replacement, even briefly flirting with the idea of a Mike Ditka candidacy. Finally they settled on Alan Keyes, who during a laughable campaign came out against his own daughter coming out and claimed that Jesus wouldn’t vote for Obama, and ended with 27% of the vote to Obama’s 70%.

So, “What’s your point?” you may well ask. It is this: At the rate things are going it is almost as though the Republican party must be hoping that at least one obscure candidate can hang on long enough and not self immolate, so that they have someone to prop up in November 2008 to face off against a strong Democratic candidate.

One wonders how long Ron Paul can keep up that respectable bank balance of his?