THE BETTING ODDS FOR 2008, RIGHT NOW...

In lieu of PATRICK RUFFINI'S STRAW POLL, I thought I'd post the current odds from bookmakers who put their money where YOUR mouth is:

#1 - Hillary Clinton 3 - 1 ------------------------------------- #11- Jeb Bush 20 - 1
#2 - Rudolph Giuliani 6 - 1 -------------------------- #12 - Rick Santorum 20 - 1
#3 - Bill Richardson 12 - 1 -------------------------- #13 - Mitch Romney 20 - 1
#4 - John Edwards 12 - 1 ------------------------------ #14 - Tom Vilsack 25 - 1
#5 - John McCain 14 - 1 ----------------------------- #15 - George Pataki 25 - 1
#6 - Evan Bayh 14 - 1 ---------------------------------- #16 - Chuck Hagel 25 - 1
#7 - Condoleezza Rice 14 - 1 --------------------- #17 - Barack Obama 25 - 1
#8 - Bill Frist 16 - 1 -------------------------------- #18 - Schwarzenegger 25 - 1
#9 - Tom Ridge 16 - 1 --------------------------------- #19 - Tom Daschle 33 - 1
#10 - George Allen 20 - 1 --------------------------------- #20 - John Kerry 50 - 1

[Above is according to PADDY POWER.] Here's another read of the "top ten" in the race from bet365 and William Hill (one buck'll getchya):

Hilary Clinton 4
Rudolph Giuliani 7
John McCain 9
John Edwards 11
Bill Richardson 13
Condoleezza Rice 15
Tom Ridge 15
Bill First 17
Jeb Bush 17
Colin Powell 21
George Pataki 21

I think the best candidate for the job is TOM RIDGE: he could hold all the Bush/Blue states PLUS pick up Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I think he'd have an easier time holding Ohio and picking up the Midwestern states which Bush did well in, but did not carry. Ridge is a former governor, a 6-term Congressman, and a decorated Vietnam Vet. He is a Roman Catholic. Paired with a southern or Midwestern Protestant, (like Allen or Pawlenty), he'd be unstoppable. Even paired with fellow Catholic Jeb, he'd still be unstoppable. He is a warm man and a tireless and effective candidate - you DON'T win the guvnaship in PA and hold it very popularly by being a stiff. He is tough on crime, too. He is a pro-choice Catholic, like Giuliani - which hurts them both. Otherwise, he has a lot less baggage than Rudy. (The jerk Hagel is 41-to-one. MORE ON HAGEL HERE - at ABP, hat tip MICHELLE MALKIN.)