My opinion is that it's basically a three-way race. Obama on one side and Romney and Santorum on the other. If Romney gets the nod, he just MIGHT have a shot at beating Obama. If Santorum takes the nomination, Obama's a shoe-in. Aside from the real hard-core fundie idiots, I doubt he would swing more than a handful of centrist voters, and might not even be able to hold onto the less demented of the Right. We might well see the destruction of the Republican party if Santorum takes the nomination. Every time he opens his mouth, masses of female voters flock to the other side.

I would rather see Obama or Romney, with a divided Congress and Senate, than an incarnation of Nehemiah Scudder.

It will also be interesting to see how well (or poorly, I hope) the current crop of Republican legislators, both national and state levels, manage to survive the elections after the massive doses of anti-everything legislation they've been vomiting around the country. If they can destroy the rights of anyone they don't happen to agree with and still get reelected, I think it's time to find a new home. Preferably somewhere far away from Earth.