I've mulled this over and over, looking at all the potential candidates for President in '08.  I believe that Rudy is still our best bet to retain the White House.  Fred Thompson's unannounced potential is gathering strength in conservative circles, and he certainly has the voting record to prove his bonified conservative credentials;

"Mr. Thompson compiled a record in the Senate that included votes against same-sex marriage and other gay rights proposals, consistent opposition to gun control and support of a ban on late-term abortions. He scored generally high marks from conservative groups."

Well, almost:

"But he was also a supporter of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, opposed by most conservatives. A former trial lawyer, Mr. Thompson opposed some of the changes sought by Republicans to protect businesses from lawsuits.

And though his Senate voting record against abortion rights is clear and he has said recently that he would support overturning Roe v. Wade as “bad law and bad medical science,” some conservative bloggers — including one on Evangelicals for Mitt, a Web site promoting Mr. Romney’s campaign — have cited news articles from 1994 in which Mr. Thompson was described as “pro-choice” as evidence that his position has not been consistent."

McCain-Feingold=Democraps in the House and Senate.  It's an abomination the President should never have entrusted to the fickle SCOTUS.  That will go down in history as one of his worst mistakes, right after his refusal to clean house of all left over Clintonistas who've been leaking security information to the Times since he took office. 

We all love Newt, but please remember the way the press treated him when he was Speaker!  If you think 8 years of constant vitriol from the drive-by media has been bad with Bush as president, think about what we'll hear if Newt were president.  As Vice President, he'd be a great choice, and would go a long way to placating the right...with Rudy in the lead position.  That would be a really tough ticket for the Clinton machine to combat. 

Considering the political machine the Clintons have put together, don't mislead yourself that Shrillary doesn't have a chance of winning.  Especially if she chooses the Golden Boy Obama as her running mate.  I don't care what the polls say right now, he'll fade fast under the current scrutiny.  One look at his voting record in Illinois will show you that he doesn't have any gumption.  Whenever a vote on any really important issue came up, he either entered "present" rather than nay or aye, or just didn't show up to vote.  Not a track record for leadership, but also not a record his opponents could point to as he pursued his grander goals. 

The only way we can hope to hold on to the White House, IMHO, is with Rudy Guiliani heading the ticket, and a bonifide conservative as his running mate.  I suggest Michael Steele as a great choice! Imagine New York and/or New Jersey becoming a red state!