THE RACE WILL GO ON...AND ON.

Yesterday was Super Tuesday. Voters in ten states (Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia) went to primaries and caucuses to cast ballots for the Republican nomination for President. Entering the evening, four candidates remained in the race; Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. By the time the last states were called (Ohio due to the closeness of the race and Alaska due to its western geographic position) all four candidates vowed to carry on.

The final results showed Mitt Romney the victor in Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, Ohio, Vermont and Virginia. Rick Santorum won North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia. Ron Paul did not win a single state.

Mitt Romney will stay in, of course, because he remains the front runner. He leads in the delegate count and still has the clearest path to the nomination.

Rick Santorum will stay in the race because he remains the most viable conservative alternative to Romney.

Newt Gingrich remains in the race because he is a narcissist of the first order.

Ron Paul will stay in the race because of his ideals. He wants his message of monetary reform and a strict reading and following of the Constitution to get as much penetration into the psyche of the American people as possible.

Because of all of this, the race will go on. This Saturday Republicans will caucus in Kansas, as well as in the territories of Guam, the Northern Marianas islands and the Virgin Islands. Expect Santorum to do well in Kansas with Romney and Paul both getting delegates in the others. Next Tuesday Alabama and Mississippi hold primaries while Hawaii and American Samoa hold caucuses. This will be the next opportunity to eliminate Gingrich if Santorum can win both of those states. If Newt wins one, or both, he will continue his campaign (and he may continue on even if he loses). The next big state is Illinois on March 20.

You may be sick of it all by now, as I am. You may have come to believe that this is a weak field, reminiscent of the GOP in '96 or the Democrats in '04, as I have. But despite our misgivings, the race will go on. For those of us who truly wish to see the incumbent President sent packing, we will need fate to intervene. The good news? American electoral history is filled with instances of fate and chance, or mischance, deciding the mood of the voting public on election day.