9 to the Left, 11 to the Right, Stand Up, Sit Down, Fight, Fight, Fight!

Well, according to Wikipedia, now there are 11 likely Republican candidates for president and 9 likely Democratic candidates for president. Plus a few more who have sent out murmurs of interest. At least that's what it looked like an hour ago. Have I missed the latest? Have 27 more people thrown their hats in the ring? How 'bout Liza. We haven't heard anything from her lately. And where's Jesse Ventura?

Since you can't tell the players without a program, here they are:

Official candidates who have filed with the FEC for the Democratic Party:
Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut (Campaign Site)
Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina (Campaign Site)
Former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska (Campaign Site)
Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio (Campaign Site)
Former Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa (Campaign Site)
Candidates who have formed exploratory committees:
Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (Unite Our States PAC)
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois (Exploratory Committee)
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York (Exploratory Committee)
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico (Exploratory Committee)
Candidates who have expressed serious interest:
Retired General Wesley Clark of Arkansas (WesPAC - Securing America)[5]
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts (Keeping America's Promise)[6]
Reverend Al Sharpton of New York [7]

[edit] Republican Party
Official candidates who have filed with the FEC for the Republican Party:
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas (Campaign site)
John H. Cox of Illinois (Campaign Site)
Michael Charles Smith of Oregon (Campaign Site)
Candidates who have formed exploratory committees:
Former Governor Jim Gilmore of Virginia[8]
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York (Exploratory Committee)
Representative Duncan Hunter of California (Exploratory Committee)
Senator John McCain of Arizona (Exploratory Committee)
Representative Ron Paul of Texas (Exploratory Committee)
Former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts (Exploratory Committee)
Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado (Exploratory Committee)
Former Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin (Exploratory Committee)
Candidates who have expressed serious interest:
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia (Winning the Future)[9]
Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska (Sandhills PAC)[10]
Former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas (Hope for America PAC)[11]
Former Governor George Pataki of New York (21st Century Freedom PAC)[12]

What say we put them all in a cage match and see who emerges victorious. Bound to be more entertaining than the upcoming thrashing and posturing and (oh, god!) the debates. Ack!