I have to say, I was definitely surprised that John Edwards decided to get out of the Presidential Race before Super Tuesday.

Even after his third place finish in South Carolina, I figured that Edwards would stick around, get a few delegates here and there and see if he could become a kingmaker in the case of a divided Democratic party race.

Instead, Edwards is dropping out, leaving the race to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

At first blush, I'm not sure who the Edwards departure helps or hurts. It would seem that both candidates would gain some voters based on the primary results so far.

With both Edwards and Giuliani headed home, I'm more convinced now that these races won't go to any brokered convention. In fact, I would almost wager that we will have a very good idea who the nominees will be after Super Tuesday.

I say that because if anyone "wins" Super Tuesday by carrying a majority of states, then they will quickly become the favorite.

McCain Beats Romney in Florida Primary

Grabbing some momentum heading into Super Tuesday, John McCain won a solid victory in Florida, putting himself again at the top of the GOP Presidential field.

It was a victory that will knock Rudy Giuliani out of the race, as the former New York Mayor is expected today to endorse McCain out in California.

It was McCain's second straight primary victory and third overall, as he has now won in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

What was different this time was that it came in a state that did not allow cross over voting by Independents or Democrats, a point McCain noted during his acceptance speech in Miami.

Maybe the most surprising part of the Florida exit polls was that McCain won over voters who considered the US economy to be the top issue, especially after Romney hammered McCain on the subject for days.

What makes this an amazing story is that just four weeks ago in the runup to the Iowa Caucuses, I remember covering a McCain event where some of his advisers said they thought the Senator had a fighting chance to win in New Hampshire.

At that point, the McCain camp had little organization in either South Carolina or Florida, and both states were hardly on the radar screen.

Now, the Arizona Senator finds himself leading the GOP field as we head to Super Tuesday and an over 20-state showdown with Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.

Romney certainly has the resources to win and cannot be counted out. McCain would probably like Huckabee to stay in the race and drain votes away from Romney.

Giuliani Runs Third, Readies Endorsement

For weeks it had been apparent that Rudy Giuliani's gamble on Florida was not working. He was trending down in the polls and not drawing big crowds like McCain and Romney.

A colleague of mine who attended Giuliani's election night party said it had the feeling of a funeral and that many people seemed to be having more than a few beverages to ease the sting of their Florida defeat.

Giuliani had barely started to speak when the news alerts started on the Associated Press wire that Giuliani was going to endorse John McCain on Wednesday, as the end of the road came quickly for the former New York Mayor.

Despite the protests of Ron Paul supporters, we are basically down to a three person race right now in the GOP, with McCain, Romney and Huckabee, who is also teetering on the edge of being endorsement material as well.

Giuliani had thought he could bypass the early states and bank everything on a big showing in Florida - and for months it looked like a good plan.

But then as every primary and caucus went by with no news about Giuliani (other than how bad he had done,) voters seemed to peel away on an hourly basis from the former Mayor of New York City.

Looking back, Giuliani should have made a big effort in New Hampshire. He might have been able to hold back the McCain explosion there and better position himself for future contests.

Instead he goes home without winning one delegate. That was not a very good return on his investment.

Hillary Grabs Easy Win in Florida

Getting exactly the public relations photos that one would expect, Hillary Clinton flew into Florida soon after the polls closed and claimed victory in the state's presidential primary.

Clinton and other Democrats had been barred from visiting the state for campaign events, all because of the dustup over Florida's primary date, which was too early for party leaders.

Coupled with the news of McCain's Florida win and other stories from Campaign 2008, it was a good mix of ingredients for the New York Senator, as she gained back a bit of momentum that she lost to Senator Obama."

Like the Republicans, Obama, Clinton and Edwards will be going West to visit California in coming days, which offers the most delegates of any states up for grabs on Super Tuesday.

Hillary's supporters hope the win will erase the doubts raised by Obama's big win in South Carolina and demonstrate that she is the best candidate for November.

Sit down at your computer and find a map of the states that vote on Super Tuesday. Now imagine that you are either a Hillary adviser or an Obama aide.

Where do you send your candidate over the next week?

What states do you concede? What states can you make a run at winning?

We will start getting some of those answers in coming days as we start on the Road To Super Tuesday.