After Mitch

Halperin's Take: What matters now that Daniels is taking a pass:

1. How will Romney, Pawlenty, and Huntsman divide the Establishment money bundlers who were committed to the Hoosier?

2. Will the Establishment reach a consensus about which heavyweight they want to coax into the race?

3. Will the media paint the contest as a Romney-Pawlenty battle or a three-way with Huntsman? (The latter is the accurate description, but plenty will ignore the reality.)

4. Can Pawlenty raise more then ten million dollars -- or not?

5. If Romney and Huntsman skip Iowa (including this summer's straw poll), what happens to Iowa's influence in the process?

6. Is there a strong Tea Party candidate in the race? Is there a strong religious conservative candidate in the race?

7. When does Florida hold its primary?

8. Who do Rick Perry, Haley Barbour, John Boehner, and Paul Ryan think should be their nominee?

9. Given the media's posture, can Romney have a successful announcement event? (Coming soon....)

10. Which of the other candidates can do the most damage to the Big Three? (Tentative answers, in order of likelihood: Bachmann, Gingrich, Palin, Santorum, Paul.)