Re: "...He still doesn't stand a chance of winning the nomination..."
Probably true, but stranger things have happened.
Everyone said Truman didn't have a chance, the newspapers all printed their headlines "Dewey Beats Truman" and had them ready for sale.
And Truman had been a life-long member of the Ku Klux Klan.
There are so many possible factors between now and then which could alter the entire scenario.
Three Republican candidates have cancer (they may say in public that they are "cured" but that is not a term used in medicine with cancer cases...the physicians will only say that the cancer is in "remission"...they define "cured of cancer" as being still alive 5 years after treatment)
Of everyone I've known who has developed cancer and undergone surgery / chemo, none have lasted for over three years without a complete relapse and death.
The ages of Thompson, McCain, & Giuliani are already nearing the later years of their lives.
The terrible stresses and aggravations, lack of proper sleep, etc. associated with the Presidency are the worst possible things to which cancer victims should subject themselves.
If I were Osama Obama or Edwards, I would avoid any and all air travel until long after the elections. Seems that those who cross Hillary & Bill meet up with lots of accidents.
The real "wild card"=Jorge Wahabi Bush...no telling the extent of the damage to the U.S. he will cause over the next year.
Wouldn't surprise me at all were he to cancel all the elections and arrest all the candidates just like his buttboy Musharaff!