AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT

Aides to Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter say that he will announce Wednesday that he is dropping his bid for the presidency. "In addition to not being able to raise money, there was no indication that his message was catching on wih Republican voters," says TIME's John Dickerson. "His impact on the campaign has been negligible. To the extent that he forced people to talk about abortion, he gave voice to those Republicans who didn't want to see the government messing around the bedroom. But even if he had unlimited resources, Specter would not have been a contender. He was fundamentally at odds with the other candidates in the field, and GOP voters just didn't seem to respond to him. While Specter is a very passionate senator, he doesn't have the stature a person needs to fill the office of the presidency." Specter, 65, is the second declared candidate to leave the race. California Governor Pete Wilson quit in September. Newt Gingrich said yesterday that he has virtually decided not to enter the race, and will announce his decision next Monday. "It just wasn't in the cards for Gingrich," reports political correspondent Michael Kramer. "He probably made the right political decision. Gingrich has real problems with polarizing voters."