Handicapping '08 with Rather, Alter, Halperin

At the American Magazine Conferece, Dan Rather just interviewed Newsweek's Jonathan Alter and Time's Mark Halperin about how the 2008 election's shaping up. Highlights:

Halperin on Giuliani: "I wouldn't give Rudy Giuliani more than a 35 percent chance, but I wouldn't give anyone more than a 35 percent chance."

Halperin on Bloomberg:"When people bring up Perot and compare him to Bloomberg, I always bring up a four-word comparison: spent less, was crazy. And those are two pretty big issues in politics."

Alter on Clinton: "Hillary Clinton is a very disciplined front-runner. She has to make some mistakes to blow it. At least so far, she's not hitting a lot of home runs or triples but she has a good batting average."

Rather on Romney: "I think that Mitt Romney is an undervalued stock at the moment....Tall, good looking men sometimes do well in elections."

Alter on Giuliani: "I don't think Giuliani is a strong candidate in the general election. He's a dark candidate of fear, and we tend in this country, with the exception of Richard Nixon...to elect light candidates of hope." Hedge: "Should there be a terrorist attack on this country in the next 12 months..that would change everything and terrorism would once more move to the fore."

Alter on Huckabee: "He's got a very hard time winning the nomination because in the Republican party, lack of money is seen as a character flaw. I think he would actually be the strongest general-election candidate for the Republicans. Likable candidates who talk and connect in a hopeful way and speak American do better."

Alter on Thompson: "Right now to me looks like he would be the worst of the general election candidates, because he's just on a different track."

Alter on McCain: "He feels a little like Bob Dole these days."