America NY

The WSJ's Washington Wire reports the latest poll results under the headline New York Candidates Stay in Front, which made me consider how improbable it is, even this far out, that the current leaders of both parties are from New York (any charges of carpetbagging notwithstanding). The two Big Apples of our collective eye, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, are still leading even their closest competitors by double digits (or nearly) in most polls, even as both have yielded some ground.

Clearly, of the two, Giuliani is presumed to be less likely to maintain his lead and snag his party's nomination, but such presumptions may be premature—since, as I've said before, it's best never to underestimate the Right's ability to march in jackbooted lockstep with whatever candidate is given them, particularly if he's got the authoritarian credentials Rudy brings to the bash. So, it's not entirely inconceivable we could end up with a battle of the NY all-stars, which would just be zany, considering the silly but widely accepted belief that New York the state, and particularly the city with which it shares its name, is wildly unrepresentative of the country as a whole.

Also interesting is that the most viable Midwestern candidate is a Democrat (Barack Obama) and the most viable Southern candidate is a Democrat (John Edwards).

Still early. Things could (and likely will) change. But weird field this time. So far.