Is the Republican race over?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
If the Republican primary race was a movie, the director might be ready to yell "Cut, print. That's a wrap!"
Mitt Romney is plowing ahead into South Carolina with the wind at his back after becoming first non-incumbent Republican in modern history to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. He may now be all but unstoppable.
Not too bad considering the Republicans have spent the past year trying out a whole roster of other candidates as the anti-Romney.
They've kicked the tires of everyone from Rick Perry to Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich and, most recently, Rick Santorum. And despite brief spikes in the polls, none of these candidates has been able to present a serious challenge to Romney. And if they're going to, they better start. Time is running short.
John Avlon writes for The Daily Beast that Romney is "ready for prime time" after his double-digit New Hampshire victory.
Consider this: Romney won almost every major demographic in New Hampshire. He won Catholic voters - even though he is a Mormon and ran against two Catholics. He also won evangelical voters and tea party supporters - despite all the talk that he wasn't conservative enough for the right wing of the party.
And the rest of the crowd doesn't seem to get it. Despite weak performances in New Hampshire - especially by Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry - the whole group will stumble on into South Carolina.
There's an old expression that goes, "When it's over, it's over."
Here’s my question to you: Is the Republican race over?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
If Romney wins the nomination, who should be his VP?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
With Iowa and New Hampshire in his rear view mirror and South Carolina and Florida looking like two more potential victories, Mitt Romney is looking like he's going to be tough to beat.
If Romney goes on to win the Republican nomination, the next question becomes: Who is the best pick for vice president to round out the ticket?
For starters, nominees usually take a look at their former competitors, although it's hard to imagine Romney picking Newt Gingrich to be his No. 2.
A recent column on TheStreet.com suggests the Republican winner should look for a VP with a strong business background, experience, and someone who can avoid the so-called Palin syndrome. Translation: They should be able to name some newspapers they read and a couple of Supreme Court cases.
This could include politicians like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Christie has been campaigning for Romney to sell-out crowds in New Hampshire. Sort of a political odd couple.
Christie brings healthy doses of his signature straight talk. When protesters at a New Hampshire rally recently yelled: "Mitt kills jobs. Christie kills jobs," Christie shot back with this:
"Really? You know something may go down tonight, but it ain't gonna be jobs sweetheart."
Christie would certainly spice up the ticket and might be more willing to go on the attack so Romney wouldn't have to.
As a side note, here is my political fantasy: President Obama convinces Hillary Clinton to replace Joe Biden on the Democratic side.
Then a series of debates is scheduled between Clinton and Christie: It would be much more entertaining than debates between Romney and Obama. It would be huge. Hey, we can dream, right?
Here’s my question to you: If Mitt Romney goes on to win the nomination, who should be his VP?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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