all this will be a moot point if in a few days Mitt does not turn out to do well in Iowa.

Mitt needs a good 2nd place finish in Iowa to really put him in the lead going into NH and headed to SC and Florida.
If Mitt actually wins Iowa?..well, thats going to drive half the names off the playing field right away.

Everyone else in this race is counting on Mitt to come in 3rd...
They all want Mitt to come in 3rd because that would be seen as a big **** to Mitt's chances of beating everyone, and it would open up the field for other names to fill the void.

In-fact, if Mitt came in 3rd, or worse yet, 4th, it would open up the race to the idea that new people might think about getting into the hunt too.
Sarah Palin would be tempted to toss her hat into the ring should Mitt finish 3rd.
Trump is also watching from the fence....
as are a few other names we could list who are also looking for the sign in Iowa's results that Mitt does not have it wrapped up already.

So in a few days we shall see what we shall see.

I dont know the future, and so I can only offer a guess, and then go back later as see how my guess worked out?

My current "guess" is that Mitt comes in a close 2nd in Iowa...
and that this leads to one or two names dropping out before the next week in NH.

My current "guess" is that based on the lack of a real conservative name that is able to challenge Mitt for more that a few days in a row, that there is a good chance that Mitt could actually win in Iowa.

In such a situation, if Mitt wins in Iowa? then it is my "guess" that we could lose up to half the names in the race in the 2 weeks after Iowa and from that point on it's an easy ride for Mitt all the way to the convention.

On the other hand, if Mitt were to come in 3rd or 4th in Iowa, then it is my "guess" that this would make this race a lot more interesting for everyone, and would tempt other names into getting into the race too.

In fact, should Mitt actually come in 4th in Iowa it would be almost a knock-out punch to his chances to go on to win. a 4th place finish for Mitt would be very close to a sign that his run to the White House is doomed, and would put him in position to really get spanked later if he stayed in the race.