MSM have a strong influence but ultimately it comes down to the candidates. McCain had that independent thing going for him and it is not surprising he would win primaries particularly with dems crossing over. So it wasn't just MSM.
Governors have an inside track as they should because they have led states. Romney is a professional candidate. He has had been doing this for years and is good at it. Heck I might slip and buy a used car from him he is that good. Romney is near the top because he speaks well on his feet and is smooth and looks presidential and fools a lot of people. Perry shoots off his mouth a lot and thus far has not been that great at defending himself. I am grateful to him or anyone that can keep Romney from getting in. We will see how he does going forward. If Perry rights himself and doesn't implode I don't see the rest of the candidates going anywhere except vying for VP.
They certainly have since conventions were made irrelevant. In the past states had conventions to hammer out their choice, then at the big convention, votes were bought and sold until one winner emerged.
Now we can just wait until the Media picks our candidate, much simpler, don't you think?