According to many polls, a sizable number of voters will head out to cast a ballot today unsure their final choice. But considering the track record of polls in this election year, that's probably wrong.

You most likely know exactly which candidate for president is going to get your vote today. But I'm sorry to tell you that he probably isn't running anymore.

Under new campaign rules this year, the season that began with the Iowa caucuses and rapidly morphed into the New Hampshire primary only to swell alarmingly into the South Carolina and Florida primaries has now exploded all over us as Super Tuesday.

A process that used to take months has been compressed into a few weeks. (It only seems like years and years) And this killing pace has winnowed the field of viable candidates considerably.

For example, those of you who were hoping to cast your ballot on the Republican side for a tough, crime-fighting, former New York DA are going to be very sad to hear your candidate has dropped out. On the plus side, you can now watch Fred Thompson on reruns of "Law and Order" without violating federal election rules. The departure of Democratic candidate John Edwards has had a significant effect on the whole structure of the campaign, clearly leaving Mitt Romney standing alone with a basically uncontested claim for the best hair.

And with the decision of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Neptune) to abandon his quest for the nomination, his legions of supporters can go back to watching "Star Trek" episodes in their parents' basements.

Among the candidates still running for their parties' nominations, on the GOP side we have the aforementioned ex-Gov. Romney and Old Man Potter from "It's A Wonderful Life," also known as Sen. John McCain. And there's also Congressman Ron Paul, whose supporters get very upset when we in the mainstream media fail to mention him. So here goes: Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul. Happy now?

The Democrats are down to only two candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom have toned down their divisive rhetoric to the point that they simply hate each other. Not as much as McCain and Romney hate one another, but still.

The Democrats claim not to care who the Republican nominee will be. However, the GOP desperately wants Hillary to be the choice of the Democrats. That's because for the last seven years they have been using a Hillary candidacy to scare voters. (And, no I'm not talking about how she looks in a pantsuit. That would be wrong.) They've been using her to scare contributors into giving them money. They've managed to convince most of the white male population of every red state that Hillary plans to take away their guns and marry their daughters to illegal aliens.(Not people from other countries, real aliens.)

In conclusion, go out and vote today for the person of your choice, but remember, Rudy Giuliani is the one without the TV show.

TOM REILLY is a Sun Chronicle news editor. He can be reached at 508-236-0332 or at treilly@thesunchronicle.com. Or at least that's what current polls indicate.