Now that Chris Christie is out of the race, who will be the next GOP heart-throb to stoke the fire of the party and then get their ass chewed? Eric Cantor? Marco Rubio? Will Sarah Palin finally decide that we really finally deserve to be blessed by her presence? GOP candidates line up, then have the staying power of The Playboy Club, the new TV series from NBC that had the dubious honor of being the first show of the new season to be cancelled.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney stands at the door of the prom, wilted bouquet in hand, hoping that someone, anyone, will notice that he’s still there.

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As David Brooks so sycophantically noted yesterday, Mr. Romney has everything the sensible Republican could want in a candidate. The problem is that there are no sensible Republicans left: Herman Cain is running first or second in some polls right now, and he’s got about as good a shot as Alan Keyes did in 2000.

So the Republicans face a real dilemma: they have to decide if they hate Barack Obama more than they hate Mitt Romney.