To whatever Kevin Drum was on when he wrote this about 2008:

the Republican field is remarkably weak this cycle. Compared to Democrats, who have half a dozen genuinely strong contenders, John McCain is really the only high-profile candidate they've got, and even he's hardly setting the world on fire. It's pretty amazing, really. From being on top of the world a mere two years ago, Republicans are having trouble just treading water these days.

Rudy Giuliani either slipped Kevin's addled mind or isn't high profile enough. And on the Democratic side, there is Hillary, Obama, and Edwards. That's only half of a "half dozen." Who are the three other "genuinely strong contenders" for the nomination? Joe Biden? Christopher Dodd? Please. At best you could say Bill Richardson has the potential to become a "genuinely strong contender," but he certainly isn't one right now.

Assuming Al Gore doesn't jump in (a fairly safe assumption), Democrats have three top tier candidates. Republicans have two. And while Mitt Romney is currently well back of McCain and Giuliani he has the organization and the potential to become a top-tier candidate in fairly short order.