Prior to the invention of the Internet, no one gave the first fuck about the presidential race until January of the election year. Yeah, there was all sorts of bullshit but the only people who cared were the political operatives. Then you hit the New Hampshire primary and all of a sudden there's a race.

Then shit got expensive.

Bill Clinton and Bob Dole spent less than $100m combined in the 1996 election. Meg Whitman spent $178m not becoming the governor of California in 2012. And while the Koch brothers and their ilk are sort of spending money all over (and all the Republican field is busy courting them), nobody is piling gazillions of dollars into a democratic run.

Also keep in mind: run for president on the Republican ticket, get to be a Fox News commentator. Think of it as an investment. MSNBC? Yeah, the coattails don't count for nearly as much.

Seriously, though - don't pay any attention to any of this shit until after New Year's at the earliest. It just don't fuckin' matter.

Herman Cain? Seriously?