Edwards and Giuliani dropping out, along with their husbands

The first lady candidates assemble for their first debate/mah jongg game.

After last night's disappointing third place finish in Florida, Judi Giuliani hinted that she would be dropping out of the race for first lady. The divorcee struggled to gain momentum with voters after it was revealed she had been given police protection while conducting an affair with her boyfriend, then-married Rudy Guliani. (The former mayor has also dropped his bid for the presidency.) Mrs. Giuliani will reportedly endorse Cindy McCain.

The bloodbath continued this afternoon when Elizabeth Edwards, her husband at her side, announced that she, too, would pull out of the first lady race. Edwards has not won a single primary this season. Last week, she placed a disappointing third in her husband's home state of South Carolina, losing handily to both Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton. While the former lawyer ran an intensely personal ground campaign, voters were perhaps spooked that her bout with cancer would make her a one-term first lady.

Edwards and Giuliani join an impressive cadre of '08 dropouts. Running for "first trophy lady" was Jeri Thompson, a former media consultant whose marriage to an elderly actor was the subject of unhelpful gossip. As the mother of two children under five, Mrs. Thompson struggled to schedule campaign events around the nap times of her children and husband.

The South Carolina primary also ended the first lady bid of Elizabeth Kucinich. The red-haired Brit was unable to expand her support beyond her base: ginger fetishists who play "World of Warcraft." While Mrs. Kucinich has yet to endorse any of the other first lady candidates, she did tell caucus-goers in Iowa that her second choice was Michelle Obama. Mrs. Kucinich will be returning to Ohio with her short husband Dennis, who gamely plays Sonny to her tall, glamorous Cher. Mr. Kucinich is a representative in the U.S. Congress.

Today's news has narrowed the first lady race to four candidates: Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Cindi McCain and Ann Romney, a Mormon. While none of the former candidates has expressed a desire for the second ladyship, some in the GOP are predicting a McCain/Giuliani ticket. Mrs. McCain's past experience as a drug addict coupled with Mrs. Giuliani's training as a nurse make the pairing attractive to voters in the red states, many of whom are on meth.

Filed under: first ladies, Judi Giuliani, Elizabeth Edwards, this race is tighter than Judis blouse