Back on the Blog...in the Homestretch!

I took a break from politics to celebrate New Year's, guess where?

Now that I'm back, it's time to get ready for 10 straight months of '08 madness. it's 24 hours to Iowa, and since I've been gone, I find that...

Huckabee's holding sneaky "nice guy" press conferences in which he congratulates himself for not running an attack ad...while running an attack ad for the press, thus garnering both free press for the ad and positive press for himself. People are probably buying the gambit, but I don't. He's smarter than that.

Or are they buying it? I've tended to think that Romney's ground game would eventually edge out Huck and this post suggests that may be playing out. He's only up .7% in the RCP average in Iowa. Gonna be a barn-burner.

Iowa voters are now asking Fred if he actually wants to be president, and are apparently convinced by his answer. But will his last-minute push and negative mailers give him a decent showing in Iowa?

Mitt Romney was watching bowl games with Iowa voters yesterday, doing stump speeches during commercials, which I think is the strategy I would take if I were running. He's now said he may be happy with finishing second in Iowa. The Romneys are on Fox and Friends this morning and Mitt looks tired at this point, but doesn't sound it. Ann looks fabulous, as usual, and they're pretty endearing as a team. She sounds less rehearsed than he, which is helpful.

McCain's on a roll in New Hampshire, and some polls show him 3rd in Iowa? My, how times have changed since last summer. He's after Romney with a web ad that suggests Romney doesn't have enough foreign policy experience to face the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.

John Edwards is on a 36-hour Anger and Desperation Tour in Iowa, leaving his hairdresser even more angry and desperate than his candidacy.

Hillary's still attempting to seem human, which makes that particular campaign the only one older than her campaign to be president.

And, Iowa's Des Moines Register poll gives Obama reason to say "oh, yeah!" but only if a bunch of Independent voters turn out for him.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the homestretch. Let's git 'er done.