Yet there are reasons to hope for a viable election, if election preparations accelerate immediately.
For those on the left it means creating a viable, election-winning politics in the wake of the New Labour project.
They told me that critiquing our capitalist system and refusing corporate donations is a viable election strategy, fighting to reduce economic inequality can dramatically improve the lives of women and communities of color, and our society is much less democratic and free than many people are willing to acknowledge.
The nomination of a McCain, or a Giuliani, could result in the selection of a candidate whose macho posture and rascal charm make for a viable general election nominee.
That unprecedented volatility has a fairly clear explanation: Though most Republican voters have long perceived Mitt Romney as their most viable general election candidate, a significant share of conservative Republicans have been searching for a more conservative alternative.
He argued that none of his opponents understood the problems of the south and were therefore un-viable general election candidates.
But it is Paterson's only viable path to election.
Only when a leader emerges who recognizes that women's health is an election game-changer will the Republican Party be a viable player in future elections.
If her party, A Just Russia, could sustain such a level across the region, it would be considered a viable alternative in future elections.
Whitehouse argued that strong concern about climate change among Latino and young voters made it increasingly difficult for Republicans to cling to climate change denial – and remain viable in the 2016 elections.
A governor, who was elected to create jobs, took office and quickly moved to disenfranchise voters and kneecap unions so they could no longer be a viable force in state elections.
