Ted Rall: Frontrunners By Default

An Utterly Reckless Preview of the 2008 Election

NEW YORK--If I knew who was going win the presidency next year, I wouldn't tell you. I'd place a bet. Political handicapping is a mug's game, as I demonstrated in 2004 when I declared Howard Dean a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination. Even so, I've received so many requests for my dimestore Nostradamus act that I'm taking this week off from my usual policy of prognostication avoidance to call the 2008 race.

Start with a fact: If the last party primary were held today, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani would be the nominees. In the general election, I buy the latest WNBC/Marist College poll, which finds Clinton trouncing Giuliani by five points (48 to 43).