Mr. 9/11 and That "Two Americas" Guy Drop Out. Paging Mr. Nader?

A few days before Super Humongous Tuesday, voters and caucus-goers in 22 states are finding fewer items on the presidential menu, with the departures of John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani.

In any other year, Edwards would have been the Democratic nominee with his message of protecting the poor and middle class from the big, bad special intersts. Unfortunately for the former North Carolina senator, he got sandwiched in between two history-making candidates--a woman and an African-American. Finishing third behind those two in the primaries didn't help, either.

Giuliani's fall was more dramatic, considering the former New York City mayor was leading in the polls before people actually voted. Why he chose to compete only in Florida's GOP primary and not in the earlier ones is known only to him. Mr. 9/11 hit so many people over the head with his national security cred that he failed to notice it's the economy, stupid. Also, no conservative would have wanted to vote for a candidate who's on his third marriage.

So here's what we have left: For the Democrats, it's Hillary Clinton, a senator and former First Lady whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, seems to be the power behind the throne. Her remaining opponent is Barack Obama, the charismatic senator from Illinois, whose relative youth and inexperience in national politics could help or hurt him at the polls.

On the Republican side, we have John McCain, the maverick Arizona senator whom conservatives can't stand. Challenging him are: Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor for whom money can't buy him anything but second place, and Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who doesn't seem to understand that people get turned off by his fire and brimstone approach.

It's your choice, America. If none of them appeal to you, there's always Ralph Nader. We hear he wants to run again.