Another national poll(AP): Rudy 29% (up 2 pts), Thompson 19%(down 4 pts), McCain 13%, Romney 12%( up 1 pt), Huckabee 10%. In early state polling Zogby has Romney up by 14% in Iowa and Rasmussen has him up 15% in NH. But more interesting perhaps is news that Huckabee and his staff intend to spend virtually all their time between now and Jan. 3 in Iowa. That is Huckabee’s big chance and it makes perfect sense for him to camp out there and make a run at Romney, stressing his social conservative credentials and theme of “authenticity and consistency” — oh gosh, who could that be directed at? — for the next 50 plus days. If he wins or comes real close the race is transformed. So what does Romney do? He must defend NH and continue to hammer away at SC so he can’t spend all his time in Iowa. But I’m guessing there will be a lot of Romney paid ads and several days each week spent in the state.
