As formidable and admirable as both Christie and Palin are, it’s reached the point where they’ve both become more than just a distraction. They’re now a detriment.

How sincere will it look, after all, in two months when the field is set and both are absent from it, and conservatives suddenly try to pretend that they are satisfied and enthusiastic about Rick Perry, Mitt Romney or Michele Bachmann? Sure, we begged Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Sarah Palin and everyone else to run before, but now we’re totally behind one of these guys. If there were ever a gift to present to President Obama, it’s the gift of obvious apathy.

Time’s up, governors. If Chris Christie and Sarah Palin want to run, get in there. If not, definitively and convincingly take your names out of the running. Conservatives need to begin the arduous job of whittling down the field and picking their frontrunner. The fact that there have been five GOP straw polls in as many weeks with as many different winners is proof that these unanswered questions are creating a dangerous ambivalence among conservative voters.