After presenting the following election related new items, Jim opened the phone lines to give Crosstalk listeners an opportunity to comment on the current status of the G.O.P. nomination race:

--Romney encourages rivals to back out of the G.O.P. nomination battle claiming they are hurting the party by continuing to campaign.
--A Rick Santorum ally calls for Newt Gingrich to step out of the way.
--A Gingrich advisor feels Romney should step aside so that conservatives can have a debate about how to confront Obama.
--Sarah Palin has not abandoned the idea of accepting a proposal to run for president should the G.O.P. race lead to an open convention in August.