Tag — You're It

I remember some years back when a high-flying corporate executive friend of mine started complaining he wasn't flying so high anymore.

It started in subtle ways:

He was left out of meetings.

His memos were ignored.

The people who used to suck up to him, soon avoided him.

Before long, this "in" guy was out. Laid off, he said, “out of the blue.”

But clearly it wasn't out of the blue: The signs were there.

Well, the same thing happens in politics.

There once was a time when all the candidates were ganging up on Howard Dean.

He was, after all the, "in" guy, the "it" guy, the "try to take him down" guy.

Then came Iowa. Then came that bizarre post-Iowa rally. And suddenly Howard has become How-weird.

Watch how they treat him in the big debate Thursday night. I bet no one lays a glove on him. No one criticizes his record. No one talks about how many minorities he had in his administration.

Suddenly the invincible candidate will become the invisible candidate and they'll all be on to another candidate: a new "in" candidate.

Those who backed him will start distancing themselves from him: Like my friend who was once so "it” until he was "out."

Lesson learned: Enjoy the roller coaster -- it's called life.

Watch Neil Cavuto's Common Sense weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on Your World with Cavuto.