I think that a Romney/Thompson ticket would be formidable...not to assume that either Mitt will win the nomination nor that Fred would be interested in the VP if asked.
My guess is that the dem ticket will be Obama/Clinton(yes, in that order)
and possibly a third-party McCain/Lieberman
I just can’t believe the Republican voters are actually going to stomach Romney. The establishment wants him, but he is so plastic, so contrived, so unable to articulate without prepared notes that I have to believe he will implode. Rudy is done, put a fork in him. McCain - I agree, he can’t rally the party. That leaves Thompson and Huckabee, the only other candidates other than Ron Paul and Hunter, left. I think the real story that no one is talking about is the battle between Thompson and Huckabee for the social conservatives in the party. Romney’s fall has been due to his inability to “close the deal” with social conservatives.
I don’t think Hillary would take second place but you can never be 1000% certain about these things. Would she still be seen as presidential material at age 69 in 2016? I also can’t imagine Hillary picking Obama as he would be seen as overshadowing her. A more likely choice for her would be Gov Richardson.
As far as third parties go I think we are more likely to see an independent run by the left wing Mayor Bloomberg than by McCain.
Only a suicidal fool would allow Hillary to be in a position to move up by arranging another murder.