Agreed, to a point, but I think the MSM is the ultimate litmus test. Can Mitt withstand the next 21 months of full blown media exposure unscathed?
Mitt is now tied with Gingrich in the polls and both are in the low end. The MSM is poised like a cobra over Mitt.
Judging from Mitt's style: He charges fast and hard and never relents. I know Huckabee says that the race is a Marathon, but I think he will be shocked by how Mitt will never lessens his pace. I am not sure he will be the frontrunner, but I am pretty confident that Mitt will survive and will be in striking distance when the primaries come around.