If you are depressed about the gloomy financial news, here is the story that came out of last night's Democratic Presidential debate in South Carolina. Perhaps you aren't cheered up by the spectacle of Democrats tearing each other's guts out, but I am.

On the Republican side, some conservatives have come out swinging in what may be a last ditch effort to derail the John McCain nomination. Here is one argument against him, and another, both of which conclude that Rudy Giuliani is the right guy. Here is another article, though, which explains what may be behind the McCain resurgence this year, and it relates to what happened in January and February some forty years ago in a place called Vietnam.

David Brooks has this analysis about what is happening inside the GOP.

George Will has this analysis of the race for President in both parties.

Here are the latest polls from Florida. Notice that of the two most recent polls, one has McCain up by five points, and the other has Romney up by five points. Giuliani is right there with those two in both polls, and Huckabee is trailing those three. It looks as if Huckabee is fading. If that is the case, where will his support go? Romney has the more traditional views from a conservative Christian viewpoint, but his Mormon faith may still present an obstacle, and his inconsistency on certain issues may be an even bigger obstacle. Giuliani certainly won't get much of that support, so it may be that McCain is the big winner if Huckabee becomes a non-factor.