As the ranks of Republican candidates thin with Herman Cain’s decision to suspend his campaign, the remaining serious candidates are reduced to three: Romney, Gingrich, and Perry. No, I haven’t forgotten Ron Paul. I just dismiss him as a contender. He can get his share of the votes, but he cannot be the nominee. And he is actually helping Perry by running attack ads against Gingrich in Iowa; this one is a shorter version of the web ad that attracted so much attention a week or so back. Sooner or later–probably the former–the national media is going to start digging into Gingrich’s past, and they will uncover a mother lode of material. At that point, the media become Perry’s new best friend, and Gingrich will began to fall in the polls. Then Republican field will narrow to Romney vs. Perry. In that scenario, it’s advantage Perry. Don’t write him off yet.