If McCain loses in November there’s no guarantee that Sarah Palin will be a front-runner to secure the GOP nomination in 2012 (though I’d guess she will be a contender). But if McCain wins and, as seems possible, serves just one term then, clearly she would be. Equally, if Obama loses this year there’s no certainty that Hillary Clinton will automatically be the prohibitive favourite for the Democratic nomination in 2012 (though that too seems quite possible).

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