Just for giggles... after what happened with Herman in the primary, I just can't wait to see how many wives 'ol Golden Plates Willard has (perhaps they're living in his daddy's birthplace Mexico) that the Crisco Kid running the DNC and the MSM trot out for the general.

As such, Santorum is not out if it yet.  After a few more weeks of Romney and Gingrich attempting to publicly disembowel each other, Santorum is going to look a lot more like a legitimate candidate.  Does he seem like the perfect candidate to me?  Heck no, otherwise he would have been higher on my list to begin with and not have been lifted to the top because of all the attrition.  

Jason, I absolutely agree with your progression of favored candidates. My first choice was Palin.  Then it was Cain.  Then Bachmann.  (If Rubio had run he would have been right after Palin but I'm not certain he was ever interested in this cycle and I believe that Palin was at least considering the possibility of running.)