The Morning Five.
The biggest sign that something is happening in New Hampshire: John McCain is starting to have to pool his events....
The biggest sign that something is happening in Iowa: Hillary Clinton's starting to draw standing ovations in her speeches...
Sunday Must Reads
1. Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny on the Iowa field wars. Among their observations: Obama's looking for independents under 50; HRC is looking for single women; Edwards is looking at lists.
2. Walter Shapiro on the Undecideds:
Desperate to detect a trend in this land of deadlocked Democratic polls, I telephoned Teesha (a vocational rehabilitation specialist) on Thursday to gauge the sentiments of this one-woman focus group. "I still don't know," she said, after describing herself sitting in an empty room aside from a single chair and her laptop. "It all comes down to who has the best chance of winning."
Electability may be the most important factor churning in the minds of the undecided and loosely aligned voters whose last-minute decisions will tilt the caucuses. "The undecideds are just sitting there," said Julie Jensen, the Iowa coordinator for Chris Dodd. "We had an event in Des Moines last night for 100 people -- and half of them were undecided."
3. David Broder discovers Unity 08.
4. A Mitt Romney campaign research document: " Huckabee's Bogus Foreign Policy "Advisers" (it's after the jump).
To watch today: HRC and McCain on This Week with George S.; Thompson on Fox News Sunday; Huckabee and Obama on Meet; Face has John Edwards; Late Edition gets Dodd and Biden;
Also: Edwards and Obama continue to clash over ethics and 527s; Obama's manager, Plouffe, sends a memo blasting a pro-Edwards 527 run by ex-mgr Nick Baldick, insinuates that it coordinated with the Edwards campaign and questions donation by 97-year-old Mellon heiress;
Edwards announces plans for his "Marathon for the Middle Class" tour and then promises to bar corporate lobbyists from working in the White House; Obama campaign responds skeptically. CBS's Maria Gavrilovic notes that Obama has decided to name names:
"He has said this in the past but has added this line to the closing argument speech today. “Voting because we are afraid of what Mitt or Rudy will say, just won’t do!” Obama also referenced polls in which he is beating the Republicans, “Have you seen the polls? In every pool that I am up against a Republican, I beat them! I beat Huckabee and McCain,” Obama shouted into the mic. He then took it a step futher, “John Edwards doesn’t do that! Hillary Clinton doesn’t beat all of the Republicans! I do!”
The AP notices that Edwards no longer includes a reference to the Mellon family when he recounts the villains of the Gilded Age.
Trust Huckabee's on the air in New Hampshire with this ad:
The Concord Monitor endorses Hillary Clinton:
Barack Obama, more than most, has the power to inspire. The positive tone of his campaign is not a gimmick. He is a serious candidate with sober ideas. For reasons symbolic and substantive, he would also be a nominee Democrats could feel proud to vote for. But Hillary Clinton's unique combination of smarts, experience and toughness makes her the best choice to win the November election and truly get things done.
A Romney campaign document:
"HE HAS AGREED TO BE A PART OF THE GROUP"
Gov. Huckabee Claims Foreign Policy Advisers Who Aren't Advising Him
No Laughing Matter: A serious look at Gov. Mike Huckabee's record and policy beyond the one-liners.
* Gov. Mike Huckabee: "And the ultimate thing is, I may not be the expert that some people are on foreign policy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night." (WABC Radio's "Imus In The Morning," 12/4/07)
* National Review: "The Holiday Inn Express Candidate." "In sum, conservatives should have worries about the depth and soundness of Mike Huckabee’s foreign-policy views. And staying at a Holiday Inn Express is not going to be enough to allay them." (Editorial, "The Holiday Inn Express Candidate," National Review, 12/10/07)
Confronted With Misstatements On Foreign Policy, Gov. Huckabee Insists He Is Authentic And Honest:
Gov. Huckabee Says That People Are Looking For "Authenticity" And "Honesty." NBC's LESTER HOLT: "But can you afford those kind of misstatements when the spotlight is on you and people are looking for credible foreign policy credentials?" GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: "What they're looking for is authenticity, they're looking for honesty." (NBC's "Today," 12/29/07; www.msnbc.msn.com)
Yet, Gov. Huckabee Continues To Insist He Is Being Advised By Former Ambassador John Bolton:
On Thursday, Gov. Huckabee Said That Ambassador John Bolton Had Agreed To Help Him Formulate Foreign Policy. "At a Thursday evening news conference, Huckabee said, 'I've corresponded with John Bolton, who's agreed to work with us on developing foreign policy.'" (Lisa Lerer, "Huckabee's Foreign Affairs Lapses," The Politico, 12/29/07)
On Friday Morning, Gov. Huckabee Said That He Had Spoken With Amb. Bolton About Foreign Policy. "On Friday morning, Huckabee listed former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as someone with whom he either has 'spoken or will continue to speak.'" (Lisa Lerer, "Huckabee's Foreign Affairs Lapses," The Politico, 12/29/07)
By Friday Evening, Amb. Bolton Said He Hadn't Spoken With Huckabee, Nor Agreed To Be His Adviser. "Bolton, however, has a different view. 'I'd be happy to speak with Huckabee, but I haven’t spoken with him yet,' said Bolton, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. 'I'm not an official or unofficial adviser to anyone,' said Bolton, who mentioned he’d had conversations with other Republican candidates but declined to name any names." (Lisa Lerer, "Huckabee's Foreign Affairs Lapses," The Politico, 12/29/07)
On Saturday Afternoon, Gov. Huckabee Was Still Claiming That Amb. Bolton Had Agreed To Be His Adviser. REPORTER: "Governor, you mentioned John Bolton as someone who is helping you to shape your foreign policy proposals. He says he hasn’t had communications or conversations with you. And he wasn’t the only person who you mentioned in your list of people you have talked to, to get advice from, who have said they haven't spoken to you. Can you clear that up?" GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: "Well, I had an e-mail exchange with John Bolton, and he has agreed to be a part of the group. He has not endorsed me. he has not indicated he would be supporting my candidacy, but he is one of many people who would be willing to have conversations. And we did have that e-mail exchange." (Gov. Mike Huckabee, Press Conference, 12/29/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8A6KCXwgv8)
Gov. Huckabee Also Wrongly Claimed Former National Security Adviser Richard Allen Is Advising Him:
"Huckabee Said He Had Also Spoken With… Former National Security Adviser Richard Allen." "Huckabee said he had also spoken with former State Department official Richard Haass (now president of the Council on Foreign Relations); military analyst Ken Allard; former national security adviser Richard Allen; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Frank Gaffney, founder of the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank; and a 'number of military personnel.'" (Lisa Lerer, "Huckabee's Foreign Affairs Lapses," The Politico, 12/29/07)
Yet, Allen Also Says He Has Not Spoken With Gov. Huckabee. "Reached via e-mail, Allen said an intermediary asked him to speak with Huckabee, but he hadn't yet agreed. 'I'm gradually getting older, but am fully capable of recalling with whom I have spoken,' said the former Nixon and Reagan foreign policy campaign adviser." (Lisa Lerer, "Huckabee's Foreign Affairs Lapses," The Politico, 12/29/07)