I talked to radio and blog king Hugh Hewitt earlier in the week about his book on Romney (which I reviewed here). Hugh admits being Mormon is “it a real handicap.” But continues: “I’d rather be a Mormon in this race than have sponsored the Gang of 14 or been indifferent on the issue of judicial imposition of same-sex marriage.”

On McCain, he says:

I will gladly and enthusiastically support Senator McCain if he is the nominee. But I don’t think he will be the nominee. I don’t think his campaign will make it to Iowa in fact. The Gang of 14, The Gang of 14, The Gang of 14. As you may, perhaps, recall, I defended President Bush on the Harriet Miers’s nomination to the end because of my belief in the importance of the Constitution’s design: The president nominates and the whole Senate votes. Senator McCain’s decision to undercut the Constitutional Option makes him my least favorite Republican, though, as I say in every interview, he is a great, great American and rock solid on the war. Against Hillary or Obama, I’d be up all night figuring how to help him win.

Rudy’s his #2:

Rudy is as serious about the war as they come. He hates the jihadists. Hates them. Wants them dead. Demands victory. Knows Iran’s game. Key thing to remember: Rudy took out the mob. That takes an enormous amount of guts. (Just had a 78-year-old cabbie regale me with stories about Rudy and the Fishmarket.) Rudy doesn’t play nice. Rudy plays to win. As J-Pod notes, he’s a liberal-slayer too boot. He’d be a great candidate, and a great president.
But Rudy doesn’t care about the Marriage Amendment, and Mitt Romney does. Rudy doesn’t think there’s a problem with funding embryonic stem cell research, and Romney does. Romney’s a federalist, and I’m not sold that Rudy is. Rudy is more likely to get Soutered than Romney. That’s why, on March 28, 2007, I prefer Romney. That could change, but not in the next three months.

More here .