I have sometimes been accused of gloating over those occasions when my commentary proves correct, while ignoring the occasions when it does not.

Nothing, my friends, could be further from the truth.

On the contrary, it is tiresome (and decidedly against the grain of a naturally humble and retiring personality) to find myself continually rehashing a string of successes.

I assure you, I would regard a failed prediction or off-target observation as a refreshing break from the monotony.

Nonetheless, I am forced to report to you today that my latest analysis on the 2008 Republican Nomination has already begun to pile up testimonials to its prescient accuracy.

For instance, in an article almost certainly influenced by my analysis of why Mayor Giuliani cannot win the nomination, Newsday is now reporting:

Giuliani in '08 might be an uphill battle against McCain

Wittmann is just one of many McCainiacs questioning the viability of a Giuliani candidacy.... They argue that the former mayor's liberal positions on abortion (he favors abortion rights), guns (he's for strict controls) and gay rights (he drew heat from conservatives for once living with a gay couple and implemented New York's landmark domestic partnership law) put him far to the left of McCain and most GOP primary voters.

"In my humble opinion, Rudy wouldn't get out of the gate," said longtime McCain strategist John Dennehy.

[Click link above for the full article.]

Also, Patrick Hynes has this article up at RealClearPolitics.com:

Beltway Conservatives Take Second Look at McCain

Not only is John McCain the clear frontrunner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, but many beltway conservatives are beginning to accept the inevitability of a McCain-run party.

According to several sources in Washington, DC – all of whom have, at times said things drastically critical of the Arizona Senator in my presence – McCain is the GOP’s only hope in the post-Bush era.

[Click link above for the full article.]

I would not be so vain as to presume that the classic four-post series presented here over the weekend was the catalyst that has caused Republicans to "take a second look" at McCain.

Nor would I be so naive as to presume it was not.