Primary Effects

Michael Barone has an interesting post on the effect that the course of the Democratic presidential race will have on the Republican contest. Because Rudy Giuliani gets much of his support from independent voters (as does John McCain), he would benefit from an early victory by Hillary Clinton, which would leave independents with only the Republican battle to consider. If Ms. Clinton were to falter, that would keep some of the independent focus on the Democratic race and favor Fred Thompson and perhaps Mitt Romney.