I think, respectfully, it is way too premature to say that Giuliani and Clinton will be their party's nominees in 2008.

Polls this week show Giuliani's lead shrinking to both Fred Thompson and John McCain, and I would still not rule out Newt Gingrich getting in the race around Thanksgiving Day; if he was to do this, he would become an immediate frontrunner.

On the Democratic side, Obama does not have the African-American vote locked down; despite earning the endorsements of Oprah Winfrey and California's Black Caucus this weekend, Hillary Clinton secured the endorsement of one of black-America's favourite sportsment, Earvin "Magic" Johnson.  She also has the enorsement of a number of influential black Congress members, including Charles Rangel and John Dingell, both of whom trace their political roots back to marching alongside Martin Luther King.

As for the primaries and caucuses, it is wrong to forget Mitt Romney's strong polling in Iowa and New Hampshire, although if this does not carry through to South Carolina the following week he will be finished.  Clinton will have to do something very badly wrong not to get the nomination of the Democrats at this stage, leading in all the key early States.

The talk of an "American Labor Party" is fanciful; like it or not, America is a two Party state; hence Mike Bloomberg's decision not to run as an Independent this year.  His type of Republican are about as endangered as the Gorilla, and will, eventually, gravitate to the Democrats (as has happened this week in Kentucky).

What 2008 could signal, with Democrat victories in the Presidential and Congressional elections, is a major nail in the coffin of Christian Conservatism, and a return to the more mainstream GOP policies of the 1960's and 70's (pre-Reagan).

Basically in five months time we'll know who the two candidates are and I really can't see it being anyone else other than Clinton and Giuliani.

With regards to the Republicans, Fred Thompson looks dead already and he's only just started his campaign proper - he should have joined the race in the summer when he had momentum. Romney is a joke and McCain is America's tribute to Ming Campbell.

With regards to the Democrats, Edwards is truly seen as yesterday's man given 2004's disappointing result and is seen as someone who cares way too much about his appearance with his expensive haircuts and what not. Obama tends to give the impression of inexperience and naivety. Now whether that's true or not is another matter, but that's how people see him and I severely doubt he'll win. Clinton however seems self-assured, confident and knows the answer to every question. This can be seen as a negative, but people know that from the minute she walks into the White House, she'll know exactly what to do and she'll take charge. Despite this, she won't seem like 'yesterday's politician' purely because she's a woman and America has never had a female President so she still seems like a novelty. Becoming America's first female President would be a huge achievement.

If Clinton has sense, which she does, then she'll pick Obama for Vice-Presidential candidate. His star quality, fundraising powers and ability to come across as bipartisan and consensual will be enormous assets for her. I think the Clinton-Obama ticket will beat the Giuliani-Thompson ticket, but only just. Expect this race to be as close as 2000.

Sorry NorthernMonkey, Obama counts because, apart from being African-American he brings nothing to the ticket; the Republicans would have to do nothing more than point out the fact that the Democrats were running two Northern Liberals, and Obama's total lack of experience.

To say that Clinton/Gore clashed is not entirely accurate; it was only post-Lewinsky that the relationship deteriorated.

Equally, Richardson may not be polling well, but he is raising money beyond what his poll numbers suggest, which means that he has an appeal to those outside the MoveOn.org wing of the Democratic Party.

Whilst Richardson's remarks were wrong, they do not stack-up with his legislative record, and were immediately corrected.  There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that they were anything other than someone stumbling over a time-limited, unprepared answer.

As for him being regarded as a joke, that could not be more wrong; indeed he is so respected as a diplomat and for his knowledge of energy policy that Dubya asked him to lead the first negotiations with North Korea over their nuclear facilities - a position he only relinquished to run for the Presidential nomination.