Halperin - Florida Key to GOP Nomination

Mark Halperin, the former political director at ABC News, has made some predictions, one of them re-affirming Giuliani's Florida firewall theory.

Halperin told a Texas Monthly reporter that the most important state for winning the Republican presidential nomination is Florida.

He also said that Fred Thompson is "toast," but that it's too early to write off McCain. Halpering also said that Romney and Clinton (see photo) are the most likely nominees.

I have long been saying that Romney is the most likely GOP nominee. He is running the best campaign of any Republican (though still not as good as Clinton or Obama's campaigns), in terms of the movement and organization. I am not talking about occassional verbal gaffes or any little mistake we can jump on or even who the best candidate is - I am talking about the long haul beginning when these candidates first began laying the groundwork for their campaign, and in that respect, Clinton and Obama, followed by Romney, are above the rest. And if running a good campaign does not count for something, then I have to take a good hard look at how I've spent the last ten years of my life (something I should probably do anyway).

As a side note, the latest American Research Group poll has Clinton and Giuliani maintaining their leads in Florida.