I was in NYC yesterday and was unable to post anything.

UPDATE....Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign. As I write this he is poised to make the announcement at the CPAC conference. Romney has many faults, but stupidity is not one of them. He can analyze the delegate math as well as anyone. If he wants a future in Republican politics, and he does, it makes sense to stop bashing the guy who will be the 2008 GOP nominee, get with the program and await his next opportunity (which will be 2012 if McCain loses in November, and might be 2012 anyway if McCain, due to age, decides to serve only one term).

UPDATE...Romney gave a terrific speech. If he had given more speeches like that one (or if he has and they were seen by more people) then he would have had more success. His campaign was plagued by several problems, including the fact that his authenticity was questioned (by people like me), he was unable to get the conservative wing of the party to back him earlier in the process (as many flirted with the idea of Fred Thompson, for instance), and he saw the evangelical vote split by the presence of Mike Huckabee in the race. In the end he was able to get most of the leading movement conservatives to back him, but too late to get enough of the rank-and-file to join up (especially with Huckabee drawing evangelicals and McCain getting national security hawks). It is clear that Romney is positioning himself to be next in line for the GOP nomination if McCain goes down to defeat in November.

My impressions of Super Tuesday? As I said on the air as we wrapped up our coverage on WBZ radio in Boston, I don't see anything to stand in the way of John McCain wrapping up the Republican nomination. Here is an analysis from the Boston Globe that explains why the math just doesn't work for Romney and Huckabee. For the Democrats, while he still trails Clinton in the delegate count (although the numbers have not yet been finalized), and while Clinton still has institutional support and a lead in Super Delegates, it's beginning to look more and more likely that Barack Obama will win the Democratic nomination. Why? Well, here is a list of five reasons why Clinton should be worried. Her biggest problem is that as Obama has become more well known, he has become more well liked. As Clinton campaigns she has not been able to substantially change her image. She is well liked by most Democrats, but has not been able to improve her image with independents. She does well with women, but can't seem to improve with men. She does well with older voters, but is losing young voters in droves to Obama. She has done well, so far, with Hispanics, but it is possible that could change, while she has lost any chance of improving with African-Americans as the possibility that Obama could win this thing becomes more and more apparent. Because they are so close in delegates, and because of the system of proportional allocation in all the Democratic primaries and caucuses to come, they will both continue to win delegates and remain neck-and-neck as we approach the convention. But I will not be surprised if the momentum for Obama continues to grow and he eventually takes the lead in delegates to the point where Super Delegates begin to abandon Clinton to come over to Obama's camp. Therefore, I expect Obama to clinch the nomination before the convention.

Here is some more evidence that Obama is on the winning path, as he raises more and more money, while Clinton is forced to loan her campaign personal funds.

David Broder surveys some old political hands who agree that John McCain would be a formidable candidate in the Fall, despite the ideological divisions that, according to E. J. Dionne, continue to plague the GOP. Ironically, as the GOP moves closer to nominating McCain, some of the old hands in the Democratic Party are going to realize that they can have a powerful influence on whether or not the Republicans unite behind the Senator from Arizona. Nominate Hillary Clinton and watch as conservatives bury the hatchet to unite behind McCain in their effort to prevent her (and Bill) from returning to the White House. Nominate Obama and watch as conservatives sink into passivity.