Mitt Romney seems to have benefited from the departure of Fred Thompson. Maybe you can credit that to the strength of Mittmentum, or perhaps it follows a logical progression for those conservative voters who find themselves Fredless and without a taste for Huckabee or McCain. As Giuliani inches closer and closer to electoral oblivion, it is worth wondering where his supporters are likely to go in the aftermath.

Hillary Clinton gets the nod from the New York Times largely on experience, which I imagine she is happy about. John McCain's similar honor seems as much a repudiation of Rudy Giuliani as an endorsement of McCain's candidacy, but essentially they say he is the most principled among a field comprised mostly of ghouls.

If you made it through all of the high-minded talk about Norris and Stallone, you might have also heard someone whisper "Raise taxes" just before Mitt Romney answered a question about whether he would do what Ronald Reagan did on social security. (He said he would not raise taxes.) I know it happened, and I'm not the only one who heard it. UPDATE: YouTube footage of said whisper after the jump.

The bogus claims of ineligibility against state senate candidate Wendy Davis were refuted by an appeals court yesterday. Kim Brimer's attempt to avoid a real race has failed, for now.

The Bush administration and congressional leadership from both parties have reached a tentative agreement on the terms of an economic stimulus package, according to AP. Details here.

The first line of the traditional letter from President Bush to the new president is likely to read, "Find some money for Iraq." News today reveals that Bush administration budgets do not include complete funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2009.

Obama still has a big lead in South Carolina, but it has faltered a bit according to the new Zogby. John Edwards seems to have benefited, pulling to 19 percent, compared to Obama's 39 percent and Clinton's 24 percent. Could Edwards finish second, especially now that Clinton has already gone national?

Don't worry about the economy, guys! The Dow bit back today and closed up almost 300 points.

How do you know when your campaign is mortally wounded? Is it when John McCain raids your home base, or is it when Ron Paul consistently beats you?

The CDC says that not enough adults are getting vaccinations these days. I have personally found that to be both true and hazardous in the last 24 hours.