It seems that every week there is a new Republican presidential hopeful that rises to the top only to be toppled by a newcomer in a few days. Remember the days when Sarah Palin was the Republican to beat? How about the Donald? The days of his head of hair gracing the news channels and teasing the American people about a run for president seems like ages ago.

The list continues of former front runners: Chris Christie, John Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Rudy Giuliani, and I am probably forgetting a few.

Christie was leading before he announced he wouldn’t get into the race. Bachmann was a flash in the pan when it comes to electoral strength and has been floundering in the polls lately. On the other hand, a member of the Republican field that has never risen to the top is former Sen. Rick Santorum.

Nevertheless, there are three candidates in the Republican field that would be a safe bet for many Republican donors due to their staying power. These candidates have been able to rise and fall with the tide and continue to be strong contenders. Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Ron Paul have been in this race since the very beginning and have all topped polls at different times.

Paul has threatened to run as an independent, which would surely cause the traditional Republican powerbrokers lots of heartache. Cain is the newest kid on the block to enjoy polling success, but there are still three months before the first primary voters cast their vote, and a few candidates haven’t even gotten in the race. The man who has been around the longest and has seen his share of tidal ebbs and flows is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Romney was a close contender in the 2008 Republican field but was edged out by Sen. John McCain.

A changing field of candidates is normal in today’s super-charged and fast moving election cycle. At this time in 2007, Hillary Clinton was the absolute safe bet Democratic nominee for president. However, today we call her Madame Secretary of State and the junior senator from Illinois is called Mr. President. A few tweets, massive fundraising and a strong early primary showing can propel any third-tier candidate to the nomination.

Therefore, keep watching because the Republican nomination soap opera isn’t over yet.

The last bite…

This past Saturday, I ran a half-marathon. Crazy, I know. However, what better excuse to eat whatever you want? Most runners “carb up,” but I carb up and down by eating everything in sight the day before and after the race. Friday night, Courtney and I went to the movies

to see “Ides of March,” and I ordered the spumoni. I posted a picture of it on Facebook because an Italian’s dream dessert is hard to describe, so make sure to check it out. It was a large serving of the tri-colored Italian ice cream and a handful of traditional Italian fig cookies from Angelo Brocato’s. The ice cream was great, but the cookies were slightly stale. I give spumoni and stale cookies during a movie 3.5 (out of 5) crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.