Maggie, remember that Huckabee was top-tier in 2012 as well.  A February 2011 Gallup poll showed Huckabee leading the field with 18 percent, followed by Romney and Palin tied at 16 percent.  Then a few months later, he dropped out.

Being one of the leaders doesn’t mean much this early in the race, but when the press tries to frame Bush as the front-runner, it helps to remember that he is now favored by just 14 percent of voters, a drop of 9 percentage points in the latest CNN poll, behind Huckabee to be sure.  And it is also noteworthy that at this point in the game in 2007, Giuliani was at 44 percent in the Gallup poll.  Bush is nowhere near front-runner status.

The big news remains: shock and awe all you want, there is no front-runner.

Frank Cannon is the president of American Principles in Action.