"The Rule-Breaking Campaign"

Bill Kristol has a column in Time magazine that nicely summarizes the many new and unpredictable variables that may affect the 2008 presidential race.

Such as:

The leading Republican contenders are a Mormon from Massachusetts, a pro-choice New Yorker and a late-starting TV actor. Some Protestant churches teach that Mormonism is a cult. No pro-choice candidate has been able to compete seriously for the GOP nomination since 1980. No one has gone straight from the studio to the presidency (Ronald Reagan had long ago given up his acting career and had served two terms as Governor of California). This is a very unusual bunch of Republican front runners.

And:

The Democratic front runners are a woman and an African American--the first members of either group to have a good chance to win the presidency. Do the polls accurately reflect hidden support for--or hostility toward--such trailblazer candidates? And the woman in question happens to have as her husband a former President of the U.S. Will the prospect of having Bill Clinton back in the White House help or hurt Hillary Clinton when voters cast their ballots?

Not to mention the war, the accelerated primary schedule, the lack of an incumbent on the ticket, and one that I would add to the list: the growing power of the Internet to make or break campaigns. Certainly a great year to be a political junkie. "Fasten your seat belts...."