[jay santos]

I'm new at following this stuff, so help me out there.

Looking at the republican side of it...

It seems the way to get votes in the short term is to attack someone, especially your nearest competitor. i.e. Thompson is courting the same voters as Huckabee, so he attacks Huckabee, like in South Carolina.

Let's say you're looking at a guy like Huck and you're Romney. Huck has no money and he appears to be going down in flames. If he loses South Carolina and doesn't come in top three in Florida, does he quit right there? Or maybe he quits after Super Tuesday?

If you think Huck is a short timer, wouldn't it work to befriend him and treat him respectfully, acknowledging you have the same to offer to social conservatives, even applaud him for that aspect? Then when he bows out, you can take his voters. Maybe he endorses you?

If you rip him, you might still a small % of his voters, but his strong base is going to remember you and treat you like an enemy, right? For example, I'm not easily swayed by these things, but as a Romney guy I'm getting pissed at McCain for his cheapshots at Romney and might have a hard time moving over to his camp if Romney quits, just because of that.

Or will all five of the major candidates stay to the end with the losing teams never folded into another candidate?