From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
WASHINGTON, IA, -- Hillary Clinton hit the campaign trail in Iowa yesterday with mother Dorothy Rodham and daughter Chelsea Clinton -- on the same day the mega-popular Oprah Winfrey stumped for Barack Obama in front of crowds estimated at over 30,000.

The coming days are shaping up to be a battle of the surrogates, with Clinton family members -- including the former president -- campaigning in the early voting states, while Obama tries to harness the appeal of America's talk show queen and turn her fans into solid supporters. Neither Rodham nor Chelsea spoke publicly on the senator's behalf, but Bill Clinton did in South Carolina yesterday and is back in Iowa Monday. Oprah campaigns in the Palmetto state today.

Clinton began the day at a Des Moines diner, eating an omelet and hash browns with her mother, her daughter and one of her state co-chairs, Dr. Andy McGuire, a former candidate for lieutenant governor. "I'm having a good time," the senator said when asked whether she was worried about Oprah campaigning for Obama. Clinton added that her only concern was how she was going to eat her big plate of her food in front of the gaggle of cameras.

Later, in Winterset, the senator told reporters she thought voters would ultimately decide whom to support based on the candidates themselves, not what celebrities were backing them.

The family went on to an event in a frigid airplane hangar in Winterset, where the senator unveiled a plan to help give people access to quality, affordable long-term health care. "It's time for a new beginning and a new approach to helping Americans grow old with dignity," Clinton said. "I'm going to let Americans purchase the same kind of long-term health care policies that members of Congress can choose from, because members of Congress have good options and they are safe and secure policies."

The plan aims to lower costs by providing a $3,000 caregiving tax credit to help seniors, the disabled, and their families manage care; to make long-term care insurance more affordable; and to improve the quality of nursing homes. Clinton proposed doubling the standard tax deduction available to the elderly, spending $125 million a year to help states improve the recruitment and retention of long-term care providers, and investing more than $300 million a year to help support unpaid family caregivers. The plan would cost an estimated $5 billion a year and would be financed in part by closing the tax loophole that allows fund managers to use offshore tax havens to defer paying taxes.

While the crowds Clinton attracted paled in comparison to the grand arenas Oprah's star power helped pack, the senator managed to fill the small venues where her events were staged -- despite a wintry mix of weather that made driving dangerous. Treacherous road conditions, ice, and sleet made the going rough, with the motorcade forced to stop several times on the way to the last event in Washington to scrape ice off the windshields of the vehicles.

Clinton drew laughs and applause from the crowd at the Washington Fire Department when asked about sexism and how her campaign was preparing to address the bias some may have toward her. "Well, you know, I feel like that old story about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. You know, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels. And so, I know that I'm held, perhaps, in some people's minds to a different or a higher standard, and I accept that and I'm going to do everything I can to convince people that I'm not running because I'm a woman. I'm running because I think I'm the best qualified and experienced person to do the job."

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
If the first round of MSNBC/McClatchy/Mason-Dixon presidential state
polls are any indication, we're in for a wild ride these next six weeks.

The only candidate in either party with a lead outside of the margin of error in the big 3 states (Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina) is Republican Mike Huckabee who sports a double-digit lead over his nearest competitor. No Democrat has a lead outside the margin of error in those three states and the Republican races in both New Hampshire and South Carolina are also margin-of-error close.

We'll get into the weeds of the polls in two party-specific subsequent posts, but here are the basic highlights.  (Click here for more on the Democrats; Click here for more on the Republicans)

All of the MSNBC/McClatchy polls were conducted by Mason-Dixon Dec. 3-6 and they surveyed 400 likely primary or caucus-goers in each case. They have a margin of error of +/- 5%.

IOWA
-- On the GOP side, just three candidates registered double-digits. Huckabee nabbed 32%, Romney followed with 20% and Thompson was third with 11%. McCain was in fourth with 7% and Giuliani nabbed just 5%, his worse showing in any Iowa poll this year.
-- Simply sporting a lead in Iowa right now can be considered good news for Clinton partisans, so while her two point lead over Obama is statistically insignificant, a lead's a lead. Clinton nabbed 27%, followed by Obama at 25% and Edwards at 21%. No other candidate scored double-digits, including Richardson who came in at 9% and Joe Biden who rec'd 5%. As for the all-important second-choice category, all three Dem frontrunners are tied, with 30% picking Obama, 29% naming Clinton and 27% selecting Edwards.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
-- Obama's momentum in Iowa appears to be carrying over to New Hampshire as he trails Clinton by a mere three points. This is the tightest result for any New Hampshire Dem primary poll this year. Clinton gets 30% to Obama's 27%. Edwards barely cracks double-digits with 10%, with one in five primary voters undecided.
-- Could the GOP primary be turning into a 4-way race? Possibly. Romney's once insurmountable lead appears, well, surmountable. He leads the field with 25%, followed by Giuliani at 17%, McCain gets 16% and Huckabee edges into double-digits with 11%. Nearly one in six voters are undecided.

SOUTH CAROLINA
-- In The Dem race, Clinton's lead is just three points over Obama, 28-25, with John Edwards scoring a very competitive 18%. (Remember, Edwards won this state in the '04 primaries). No other Dem receives more than 2%.
-- On the GOP side, the improbable rise of Huckabee is not just an Iowa story anymore. The former Arkansas governor leads a very competitive primary with 20%, followed very closely by Giuliani at 17%, Romney at 15%, Thompson at 14% and McCain at 10%. Nearly one in five S.C. Republicans are undecided, highlighting the fluidity of the race.

NEVADA
Mason-Dixon also has a Nevada poll out Sunday that the firm conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  The survey was conducted Dec. 3-5 with 300 likely caucus-goers surveyed in each party. On the Dem side, Clinton led with 34% followed by Obama at 26%. No other Dem popped into double-digits as Edwards rec'd 9% and Richardson 7%.

Among Nevada Republicans, Giuliani led with 25%, followed closely by Romney at 20% and Huckabee at 17%. Thompson and McCain failed to register in double-digits with 9% and 7% respectively.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
The new set of MSNBC/McClatchy/Mason-Dixon polls indicate that it's now a mistake to call only Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney the two frontrunners. With Mike Huckabee in the lead in two of the GOP's big three states (Iowa and South Carolina), it's getting harder to leave his name out of the frontrunner mix.

Huckabee's momentum is no longer an Iowa story, his personal ratings and poll standings have popped in all of the key early states. Here's a quick rundown:

Iowa: just three candidates registered double-digits. Huckabee nabbed 32%, Romney followed with 20% and Thompson was third with 11%. McCain was in fourth with 7% and Giuliani nabbed just 5%, his worse showing in any Iowa poll this year.

New Hampshire: Romney's once insurmountable lead appears, well, surmountable. He leads the field with 25%, followed by Giuliani at 17%, McCain gets 16% and Huckabee edges into double-digits with 11%. Nearly one in six voters are undecided.

South Carolina: The former Arkansas governor leads a very competitive primary with 20%, followed very closely by Giuliani at 17%, Romney at 15%, Thompson at 14% and McCain at 10%. Nearly one in five S.C. Republicans are undecided, highlighting the fluidity of the race.

One more macro thought: There might be a Ron Paul Revolution, but it is not occurring among GOP voters. He has a net-neg fav/unfav in all three states. The good news for Paul, his name I.D. is rising very fast, the bad news, he may not have a lot of room to grow beyond the committed group of supporters he already has. If he does want to see his support grow, he may need to reintroduce himself to some of these Republicans who view him so unfavorably.

Let's get into the weeds of these GOP state polls, all of which were conducted Dec. 3-6. Each survey is of 400 likely caucus or primary voters with a margin of error of 5%.

IOWA
This poll gives the clearest picture out of any other Iowa poll we've seen of where Huckabee's support is coming from. He gets support from 32% of likely caucus-goers, but gets 42% of the born-again vote and 38% of those who attend church weekly. And perhaps the clearest place that shows Huckabee's advantage is on the issue of abortion. Seven in 10 Iowans believe it should be prohibited or restricted, and he leads by more than 20 points in that category.

Huckabee's lead is across the board. He even leads all the candidates – 36-20 over Thompson – as being the candidate with the best chance to win in November. Incredibly, Huckabee is even seen as the best on national security and terrorism and immigration as well as moral and family issues – the top three issues to Iowa voters. Romney's only advantage on the issues is on taxes.

Of the front-runners, Giuliani is not that well liked in Iowa; he has the lowest favorability of the top-tier candidates and the highest unfavorable of all the candidates except Ron Paul.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Independents' support stands out here. McCain does not lead among them. In fact, he's essentially tied with Rudy and trails Romney by double digits. Notably, Romney leads by a wider margin among indies than he does among Republicans.  
Rudy is second here, but his opening could be that strength and leadership is what NH voters are looking for in a candidate. Rudy leads that category, albeit only slightly, over Romney. Romney, on the other hand, has more solid numbers in experience and values. Rudy lags far behind in values.

New Hampshire is a different story on the issues for Huckabee. He lags on the three top categories – national security/terrorism, immigration and taxes/government spending.

Finally, it appears Romney's message on immigration is resonating, where seven in 10 believe the government should take a hard line, which is far more than in Iowa. Romney leads that category by 10 points.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Giuliani may not line up with S.C. voters' values, but he's seen as the strongest leader, which is very important issue in the state – within margin of error for top issue (along with values, which Huckabee leads).

Interestingly, and possibly highlighting how unknown Huckabee really is with GOP voters, the former Arkansas governor is seen as being the most hard line on immigration here and in Iowa. Could some of his support erode once more voters learn the specifics of his immigration stance?

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
With just 24 days to go before Iowa, it appears the race for the Democratic nomination is no longer a tight 1-state contest, but a truly competitive race across the country.

In three new MSNBC/McCLATCHY/Mason-Dixon polls of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the national frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, leads in all three states but her lead is not outside the margin of error in any of those states. Her largest lead is three points, statistically insignificant. Her leading challenger, Barack Obama is nipping at her heels, trailing in Iowa by 2 points and trailing in New Hampshire and South Carolina by just three points.

John Edwards is a major factor in Iowa and South Carolina but trails badly in New Hampshire.

Iowa: Clinton nabbed 27%, followed by Obama at 25% and Edwards at 21%. No other candidate scored double-digits, including Richardson who came in at 9% and Joe Biden who rec'd 5%. As for the all-important second-choice category, all three Dem frontrunners are tied, with 30% picking Obama, 29% naming Clinton and 27% selecting Edwards.

New Hampshire: This is the tightest result for any New Hampshire Dem primary poll this year. Clinton gets 30% to Obama's 27%. Edwards barely cracks double-digits with 10%, with one in five primary voters undecided.

South Carolina: Clinton gets 28% to Obama's 25%. Edwards is a competitive third at 18%. [Note: An earlier version of this post accidentally reprinted the results from N.H.]

A few more macro observations about the surveys:
-- Bill Clinton is still VERY popular among Democrats, in most cases, more popular than all of the actual contenders, though Obama matches the FPOTUS in FAV rating in New Hampshire.
-- Hillary Clinton wins the experience issue by a landslide in all three states, while Obama wins decisively on change.
-- Hillary Clinton's support is what you'd expect: women, folks over 50 and union members.
-- Obama does very well among Democrats under 50. In fact, the biggest demographic gap is generational, not gender.
-- And here's a trend line the Clinton folks might want to worry about, in all three states, she's seen as having run the most negative campaign to date.

Let's get into the weeds of these Dem state polls, all of which were conducted Dec. 3-6. Each survey is of 400 likely caucus or primary voters with a margin of error of 5%.

IOWA
Don't write off John Edwards. Of the big 3 candidates, the former North Carolina senator has the highest FAV rating, trailing only Bill Clinton in popularity. This could bode well on the second choice front.

Clinton is seen as the least honest and trustworthy and the candidate who least represents change. That's bad news for her because those are the two top things that Iowans are looking for. Her advantage is on issues and experience, a category in which she leads by a whopping 52% to 14% margin over Richardson.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
How much progress has Obama made in this state? He's now the Democrat with the highest FAV rating (matching Bill Clinton).  

Like Iowa, Hillary leads among women, but a quarter of women are undecided. Can Oprah make a difference for Obama here? Obama's support is overwhelmingly among independents and those under 50.  

Also of note, we tested potential 2-way Dem primary matchups between Clinton and Obama and then Clinton v. Edwards. Edwards voters break overwhelmingly for Clinton in New Hampshire, while Obama voters break nearly 3-1 for Edwards. If Clinton and Edwards are sharing some supporters, doesn't that signal that those two may begin going after each other more so than Obama, gambling that the Illinois senator's support is younger and less likely to vote?

Looking at what voters most want in a candidate, Obama leads overwhelmingly on change and is seen as more honest than Clinton. That's good news for him, because those are two of the top three things voters are looking for in a candidate. Issues, though, is No. 1 and Clinton leads that by 12 points.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Obama may have dispelled those doubts among black voters, as he leads Clinton by 16 points among African-Americans. But among whites, Clinton leads by 16.

It's the same story here as the other two states, Hillary is seen as the least honest and trustworthy and doesn't represent change. Obama leads in both of those categories. Clinton leads overwhelmingly again on experience, but as in the other states, experience doesn't appear to be all that important to voters. She is seen as most right on the issues, which is important.

From NBC's Andy Merten and NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- The political powerhouse tag-team of Obama and Oprah continued their trek through icy Iowa this evening, after their first campaign appearance of their two-day, three-state tour.  Drawing a smaller crowd -- albeit one of nearly 10,000, according to the campaign -- the Illinois senator and media mogul spoke in Cedar Rapids tonight, both delivering remarks similar to those given in Des Moines earlier today.

As she did during her first stop of the day, Winfrey acknowledged her foreignness to the campaign trail. "This is stepping out of the box for me," said the daytime television superstar. "I've never taken this kind of risk before, or felt compelled to stand up and speak out." To a crescendo of applause, she continued, "Because there wasn't anybody for me to stand out and speak out for."

On the campaign swing so far, Winfrey has refrained from overt political attacks, but has pushed back hard against the implicit argument that Obama lacks experience in comparison to his main rival. Tonight, she implored the cheering audience to "see through those people who try to convince you that experience with politics as usual is more valuable than wisdom born from years of serving the people outside of Washington."

Visibly energized by the buoyant vibe in the US Cellular Center, Obama delivered remarks that skipped from chuckled laugh lines to a fiercely pronounced call for change. Joking that Iowa is one of his "favorite things" -- a play on one of Oprah's famous segments -- he delivered perhaps his most candidly optimistic assessment of his chances for the Oval Office.

"Because of Iowa," he declared, "We might just win this thing."

"Who knew?" he added incredulously. "We might just pull this thing off! We might shock the world!"

At the start of his remarks, Obama joked about Oprah's immense sway among female voters -- no doubt a major factor in the campaign's decision to dispatch the TV queen, as polls show women drifting from Clinton in Iowa. He noted a staffer's joke that, "If she told our wives to kill us, there'd be blood running in the streets. That's power."

Revisiting last week's assertion by the Clinton campaign that their chief opponent has been contemplating a White House run since his early years, Obama also took a moment to joke about his intellectual capacity as a child. "Tomorrow I'm going to disclose all my kindergarten papers," he quipped. "I'm going to disclose that I experimented with coloring outside the lines."

Touring an ice-buried Midwestern state with a daytime television supernova? That could certainly be coloring outside the lines.

From NBC's Abby Livingston
It was not merely that Oprah was for Obama. Could she be against Hillary? Amid her serenade of praises of all things Obama this afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, could Oprah have taken what could be interpreted as shots at Hillary?

"You know I've never done this before, and it feels like I'm out of my pew," Winfrey said. "I'm out of my terrain. Backstage, somebody said, 'Are you nervous?' I go, 'You're damn right I'm nervous! Yes...I am, cause I've never done this before. But if we continue to do the same things over and over and over again I know that you get: the same results."

She gave insight into the apolitical nature of her show. "I'm tired of politics as usual," she said. "That's why you seldom see politicians on my show, 'cause I only have an hour, and what I've learned is it's really hard in an hour to penetrate what I call that political veil, that veil of political rhetoric." She later added, "We, the people, can see through all that rhetoric. We recognize that the amount of time you spent in Washington means nothing unless you are accountable for the judgments you made with the time you had."

She referenced the bedrock of Obama's campaign, his opposition to the war authorization vote in 2002. "And long before it was popular," Winfrey said, "he stood with clarity and conviction against this war in Iraq!"

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
DES MOINES, Iowa – Folksy and funny, Oprah Winfrey wooed a packed
standing-room only hall here Saturday afternoon and asked them to
caucus for Obama. Joking about the ice and sleet that rained
down on Des Moines, she said if Iowans were committed enough to come
out on a day like this, they could come out again on Jan. 3rd.

Winfrey took the stage among a sea of faces, many of whom were there
only to see her speak, saying that she knew little of partisan politics
and had voted for as many Republicans as she had Democrats in the past.
She said she is supporting Obama in this election, because he was "the
one," quoting the character Jane Pittman in The Autobiography of Miss
Jane Pittman.

Winfrey praised Obama for much of what he says he stands for on the
campaign: conviction, the ability to unite the country and good
judgment demonstrated by his opposition to the Iraq War from the
beginning. But it was not the praise that she heaped on Obama that made
one understand why Winfrey was so compelling. Instead, it was the way
she spoke about politics, introducing her speech by saying she wouldn't
presume to tell anyone "what to think."

Instead, she said she was giving them something to think about. She swung from a grand eloquence comparing the experience one gains from walking the corridors of power in Washington with walking the pathways of life, to the kind kitchen table gossip that have won over viewers across the United States. She joked that when she wasn't talking about who would win "Dancing with the Stars" with her friends, they expressed an "uh uh, uh," she said when talking about the state of affairs in the country.

In speaking with the throngs of people streaming into the auditorium and then leaving it, many right after she spoke, there was no question that they were there to see Winfrey rather than Obama. The crowd, a campaign staffer joked, looked like a Bennetton ad, filled with diversity that one rarely sees in Iowa. A group of Giuliani supporters had high praise for Winfrey, saying that Obama was lucky to have someone like her, but questioned whether the candidate would be able to sell his message to Iowans.

Others said they were open to Obama because of the speech. One group of women, who got tickets, because their brother was a precinct captain, had never caucused before, and at least three were planning to attend the January caucus partially because they felt Winfrey helped push them towards a call to service. One of the three said that after listening to Obama's speech that she was open to caucusing for him.

Winfrey's speech was sandwiched between a short introduction between Obama's wife Michelle, and a longer speech by Obama. He praised Iowa and Iowans for their kindness and openness to supporting him, and said that even when he was down in the polls, he would always point to Iowa as a place where voters were listening to him.

The campaign estimated that 18,500 people packed HyVee Hall in downtown Des Moines. That number is several thousand greater than the number of people that appeared for all seven Democratic candidates at the Harkin Steak Fry in September.

From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy and Domenico Montanaro
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Huckabee
defended his past stance and written comments calling for a quarantine of those with AIDS, likened homosexuality to "lying" and "stealing" and
again lauded the power of prayer in campaigns while speaking to
reporters here.

Here's what he said…
On AIDS: "Fifteen years ago, the AIDS crisis was just that; it was a
crisis, and we didn't know exactly all the details of how extensive it
was going to be. There were a lot of questions back at that time as to
just how the disease could be carried. You may remember the 1991 case
of the person who had contracted AIDS from her dentist.

"There was just a real panic in this country, and what I mentioned was
that the only time in human history that we had not quarantined people
who are a carrier of a disease for which we didn't know where it was
going was this time, and if I were making those same comments today I
might make them a little differently. But obviously I have to stand by
what I said and the fact is that it was unusual for us to do something
unlike medical protocols. Medical protocols typically says that if have
a disease for which there is no cure, and you are uncertain about the
transmission of it that the first thing you do is you quarantine or
isolate carriers, and that's historically how we've done that in the
public health community."

But as the AP
notes: "When Huckabee wrote his answers in 1992, it was common
knowledge that AIDS could not be spread by casual contact. In late
1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were
195,718 AIDS patients in the country and that 126,159 people had died
from the syndrome.

"The nation had an increased awareness of AIDS at the time because pro
basketball star Magic Johnson had recently disclosed he carried the
virus responsible for it. Johnson retired but returned to the NBA
briefly during the 1994-95 season."

But Huckabee stuck by his 1992 statement, even after a reporter
informed him that in 1988, the Surgeon General wrote, "you wont just
catch AIDS like a cold
or flu because the virus is a different type."

On homosexuality: "I think people have a right to live anyway they want to, but if asked specifically do I believe that it is a normal behavior, I've said all along that I don't, that I think that it is behavior that is outside the boundaries of the man-woman relationship that is traditional marriage."

Asked if he thinks homosexuality is sinful, he said, "Well I believe it would be -- just like lying is sinful and stealing is sinful. There are a lot of things that are sinful. It doesn't mean that a person is a horrible person. It means that they engage in behavior that is outside the norms of those boundaries of our traditional view of what's right and what's wrong. So, I think that anybody who has, maybe a traditional worldview of sexuality would classify that as an unusual behavior that is not traditional and that would be outside those bounds."

Asked about saying that there were public health concerns with homosexuality, and he said, "There are a lot of obvious changes in what we understand about the transmission today that we didn't understand in 1992, and I think that's part of the whole issue here. For someone to dig out that 229 question questionnaire, that's going to happen. There'll probably be some more stuff that'll be dug up before now, and that's fine. The one thing that I feel like is important to note is you stick by what you said, and I'm not going to go around changing my opinion on everything."

On whether he believes God has chosen him, Huckabee said, "Well I've been very, very careful never to say I think God's chosen me, because I think that's a very presumptuous thing for anybody to try to say. So I don't know that, and I did say on that very day that last time I checked God did not register to vote in one of the states in which there's a primary.

"So this isn't about saying God is going to elect me to anything; people will elect me. And as far as the role of prayer, I would like to believe people are praying, not just for me but for our country and praying that we will have a great country and that we'll have a revived spirit in this nation, getting back to that sense of optimism and hope that I've been talking about on the campaign trail. I think that's clearly what's resonating with a whole lot of people.

About using the words "Christian Leader" in his Iowa ad: "It's a historical fact or a description of my biography to use that term," Huckabee said. "What I've been interested in is that same ad has another banner equal to that that says one of America's five best governors according to Time Magazine. Nobody's asked me about that one, and it's just as descriptive as is the idea of Christian leaders.

"So there was nothing written into that. A lot of people have tried to read something in, and it's more about those who are reading it in. It was not intended to try to say anything about anybody else. It was simply a description of my own biography, nothing more nothing less than that.

"I think it's more about moral leadership, leadership that relates to consistency in one's own life and belief. I don't think a person has to have a particular religious faith to be elected. In fact, I think it's important that we don't have a religious test. Our Constitution says that we shouldn't have one, and I would agree with that. I don't think that anybody should be excluded.

"Go back and look at the tape when Bill Maher interviewed me on his show on HBO a few months ago. I think I surprised him and probably a lot of people when he asked me about Pete Stark's comment, Pete Stark the California congressman, and asked because Pete Stark that week had said he was an atheist. And he asked me, did I think that should disqualify him for Congress. I said absolutely not and, in fact, if anything, I have more respect for a man, who says I'm an atheist and is honest about it than a man who says he's a Christian, but doesn't live like it. So, that's always been my position. I've said that on national television. I say it here tonight and that would remain my position."

On federal funding for AIDS research and the disconnect between the surgeon general's recommendation and his comments: "Notice what I said in '92," Huckabee said. "I didn't say that I wasn't for funding, but the question was, 'Was I for additional funding,' and I mentioned that there were a lot of diseases that we needed to fund, and that included diabetes and heart disease, and I would add to that Alzheimer's and a host of diseases that effect a lot of American families.

"To single out one disease as the only one that we're going to increase funding for to the exclusion of the others, I think was wrong then. I think it would be wrong now. Do I support additional funding for HIV/AIDS? Yes. I actually did it out of the Governor's Emergency Fund when I was a governor. So my record is one of taking personal initiative to make sure that we did do it, but on the other hand if we only touch that disease, and we leave a lot of people without any consideration who have cancer, who have heart disease, who have diabetes, who have Alzheimer's in their family, then I'm not sure how we can justify that. So that was the point I made then. It's consistent with the point that I continue to make now."

But what Huckabee wrote then was this: "In light of the extraordinary funds already being given for AIDS research, it does not seem that additional federal spending can be justified. An alternative would be to request that multimillionaire celebrities, such as Elizabeth Taylor (,) Madonna and others who are pushing for more AIDS funding be encouraged to give out of their own personal treasuries increased amounts for AIDS research."

Huckabee added today, "There was still a great deal of, I think, uncertainty about just how widespread AIDS was, how it could be transmitted. So, we know more now than we knew in 1992. All of us do, hopefully, about not just AIDS, but about a lot of things.

"Let me say this, it's flattering that people now are digging back everything I ever wrote and ever said, and there must be something about my campaign that's catching on, but you know if the worst thing somebody can say about me is that 15 years ago, you know, I said that we need to be very careful about this transmission of a disease, then I'm probably going to be okay."

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa -- Clinton echoed calls for a full
investigation into the CIA's destruction of interrogation tapes and
said voters would decide whom to support based on the candidates
themselves not on what celebrities back them.
   
"Clearly the 9-11 Commission asked for any kind of videos of
interrogations, and these were not forthcoming," Clinton said.
"Apparently, according to the news today, the CIA was advised by
several different sources not to destroy the tapes. They went ahead and
did so. This calls for a high-level investigation immediately into what
the CIA did, whether anyone ordered them to do it, what the rationale
for it was. We have got to get back to the rule of law. This is
critical in our country. We cannot allow any part of our government,
from the White House to the CIA or anybody else to be operating as
though they were not under the rule of law in America. That is contrary
to who we are as a people, so I hope there will be a very vigorous
investigation, starting as soon as possible."

Clinton made the remarks after an event in an elementary school gym on
Saturday. She said she was not among the small group of members of
Congress who were given any information about the tapes. The Justice
Department and the CIA have opened a joint investigation into the
matter and both houses of Congress are planning probes.

Clinton answered a question on celebrity endorsements on the same day Oprah Winfrey came to the state to campaign for Obama.

"Everybody wants to have his or her supporters speak out and try to persuade voters to support whoever their candidate is," Clinton said. "But, at the end of the day, it's a choice among those of us who are running. And I think that most voters understand that; they sort it all out; they make up their decisions.

"They can be influenced by a myriad of factors. And I think as we move toward the caucuses on January 3rd and then on to New Hampshire and Nevada and South Carolina and all the other states, voters are going to be weighing everything. And I trust voters to make the decision about who they think would be the best candidate and who will be the best candidate."

On the role Bill Clinton might play in a Hillary Clinton administration: "During the course of his presidency, I was always, you know, pleased to offer my opinion," she said. "I tried to give him my best advice, but he was the president. He made the decisions. When I'm president, that's exactly how it will work. I will seek out his advice, because he has a broad range of experience, both life experience and governmental experience, which together will be especially helpful to me. But so will others. I have a broad range of advisors. At the end of the day, a president has to make whatever decisions she believes are best for the country, and I intend to do that."
    
The senator said she was having a great time campaigning with her daughter and her mother, and that they had always planned on campaigning with her at some point this election season.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The Obama campaign estimates that 18,500 attended the Oprah-Obama event in Des Moines, Iowa.

From NBC's Bethany Thomas
NASHUA, N.H. -- McCain held one last town hall this morning
here, before heading South for the Univision debate in Miami. About 300
people filled the room, including a good number of veterans. Here are
the highlights:

On the future of Iraq: "The facts on the ground are: the casualties are
down, the explosive devices, etc., are going way down. But, I emphasize
again, it's not over. My prediction to you is that within months, and I
can't tell you how many, Petreaus will decide we can draw down more and
more as the Iraqi military gets up and operating."

On the CIA tapes (paraphrased): He said it was destructive because it
confirms suspicions, and it erodes the confidence of the American
people. Then, he used it to make the point that under him he will not
allow torture.

Proving that McCain is really trying to bring "green" issues to the
forefront of his campaign, when a young college-age voter asked McCain
about his thoughts on climate change, he turned the table back on him
by asking, "On the issue of priorities amongst your friends, where does
the issue of climate change rank in your view of the top 10?" The voter
said it was number 1 or 2. McCain said, "Thank you. That's also my
impression, and that's why I do talk about it a lot."

Last night, McCain disagreed with a woman's question about a poll she said claimed 60% of military families said the war did not justify the cost. Today, a man stood up and said he went home and researched it, and it came from the Los Angeles Times. He handed the article to the senator. McCain's response: "It all depends on the question, and the way it was asked. Of course, they are frustrated...I will suggest to you again, I can ask them, 'Do you think you are succeeding in Iraq,' and the overwhelming response will be, 'Yes.' …It depends on the question and how it is asked...the thrust of the woman's question is what I disagreed with."

On not being John Kerry's VP in 2004: "John Kerry and I are friends, and I'm sure will remain friends forever. We have shared experience, but the fact is we do not share common philosophy and belief about the role of government, about the conservative principals that I believe. I am a conservative Republican, John Kerry is a liberal Democrat. I could not have complemented his office, because we have fundamental differences about the role of government, and you elect vice presidents to run the government."

On Huckabee: "I think he's a fine man, and I think he's a principled man."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
First, Chuck Norris appeared in an ad for Huckabee, now Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling for McCain. Schilling was on the trail in New Hampshire with McCain this past week. In the ad, Schilling looks directly into the camera and says McCain "has a backbone of steel" and calls him "a man of principle who sticks to his guns."

"He's been tested like no other politician in America," Schilling adds, citing McCain's time as a prisoner of war, who "turned down an offer for early release because he refused preferential treatment. I've seen some tough competitors in my time. But none tougher than John McCain. He's a winner."

[YouTube:z-62v31F3do]

Per the campaign, the ad will run in New Hampshire "on New England Sports Network, ESPN and other New Hampshire sports programming."

Celebrities and politics has become a common mix. Just yesterday, Sean Penn endorsed Kucinich, and this weekend, the celebrity getting the most attention is Oprah Winfrey, who will likely draw tens of thousands to Obama events. To try and blunt her effect, the Clinton campaign has brought out its celebrity politician, Bill Clinton, who is campaigning in South Carolina -- where Oprah will be -- for his wife. The Clintons have also brought out Hillary's mother and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, who the campaign had said is a private citizen and, therefore, off-limits.

From NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller
CONCORD, N.H. -- Edwards, who launched his candidacy in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, took a question this morning on rebuilding the Gulf Coast city. He talked about improving law enforcement, providing stepping-stone jobs and rebuilding infrastructure, including hospitals and schools. He then told the questioner about what he calls "Brownie's Law," named after former FEMA head Michael Brown.

"It's a radical idea," Edwards quipped. "Here's what it would provide: that in order to be in charge of a major federal agency you have to actually have some experience and competence…."

The last few words of his response were drowned out, as the audience applauded for almost eight seconds. Asked afterward about "Brownie's Law" in relationship to the Senate's confirmation process, Edwards responded, "The president of the United States has a responsibility to nominate people for major positions in government, who actually meet the qualifications. Is it the responsibility of Congress to also go through that process? Of course it is, but the President of the United States has that responsibility, and we ought to have a law that actually requires it."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
As the national spotlight intensifies on Huckabee, his record and past statements, could this week's latest revelations cause the former Arkansas governor some problems -- particularly since he has a limited, if non-existent, rapid response team?

Just in the past week, parole board members came forward and said Huckabee encouraged and initiated the parole of Wayne Dumond, a YouTube video from a speech at Liberty University surfaced showing him suggesting that God, religion and the power of prayer are responsible for his surge in the polls, and now this:

"Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general
public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and
said homosexuality could 'pose a dangerous public health risk,'" the AP reports, adding later, "Besides a quarantine, Huckabee suggested that Hollywood celebrities
fund AIDS research from their own pockets, rather than federal health
agencies."

During his 1992 run for an Arkansas U.S. Senate seat, the AP had distributed a questionaire on various issues.

Here's what Huckabee wrote, in part, about AIDS: "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something
with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the
carriers of this plague. It is difficult to
understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the
history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have
not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly
disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights
issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

Here's what he said about homosexuality: "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle,
and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

Huckabee speaks much differently on the campaign trail now on both topics.

From NBC'/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- On a 36-hour trip through the state in which he will hit six out of seven major media markets here, Huckabee
found time Friday night to pick up the endorsement of the only
African-American GOP elected official in the entire state, Charleston
County Council Chairman Tim Scott along with Maurice Washington,
chairman of South Carolina State University, the oldest historically
black college in the state.

After announcing the endorsement, Huckabee deflected questions about recent criticisms voiced by Thompson about the former-governor's lack of knowledge about the NIE.

"Every day I get about a dozen calls from people all over the country,
from various news organizations, saying this candidate has just
released a news release attacking you, this one's just sent out a
letter, this one has a TV spot, and they all want me to respond, and
you know, I guess whop 'em upside the head," Huckabee said explaining
his efforts to run a "positive" campaign. "There's an old saying in the
news business that it's news when it's unusual. For [Thompson] to
attack me is not unusual, and I'm not sure it's news, so I'll begin
there."

Huckabee once again attributed his lack of preparation on current issues in the news to a busy campaign schedule, taking a jab at Thompson by saying, "I think everyone understands that except an opponent, and maybe, you know, because we're campaigning so hard that would be lost on some people who aren't."

A clip of Huckabee speaking at Liberty University's convocation has recently garnered some attention. The clip features Huckabee saying that the explanation for his recent success is "not a human one." Well last night he once again attributed his surge to the prayers of his supporters.

"I knew that things were going to start happening when we started having our Web site flooded with people who would simply say, we are praying every day for you," Huckabee said. "We had people saying I'm a Catholic, and I'm saying a Rosary for you. We had Baptists saying we're on our knees for you."

On that prayer coming from South Carolinians, a voting block also claimed by Thompson as "his people," Huckabee said, "I think if people look at my roots and values it connects with people here. You know I'm a fellow Southerner. A lot of people here believe that the issues that matter to them are the family issues and the faith issues, and it doesn't mean that they have to agree with me…but I think what people understand is there's never been a doubt in my mind or policy that marriage means one man and one woman for life.

"There's never been a time in my life where anybody's going to find some YouTube moment of me saying something other than life begins at conception."

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
DES MOINES, IOWA -- At a campaign stop in Des Moines last night, Thompson told reporters he trusts Romney's statement that his Mormon faith will not affect his political decision-making.

"The bottom line question there is whether or not somebody is likely to be affected in his religious beliefs, because of his beliefs or leaders in that religion," Thompson said of Romney's speech yesterday. "I see no reason that he would be. I take him at his word for that."

Thompson couldn't resist a swipe at Romney's record, however. The former Tennessee senator accused Romney of "being on both sides on a lot of different issues in terms of this campaign."

"But if you're talking about his religious beliefs," he added, "I'm not getting into that."

Thompson made the remarks after visiting farmers and agriculture professionals at a meeting of the pro-business Iowa Farm Bureau in downtown Des Moines. Thompson also reiterated his criticism earlier today of another rival, slamming Huckabee's "surprising" lack of knowledge of the NIE report on Iran earlier this week, and he affirmed his commitment to campaigning in the nation's first caucus state.

Well, starting next week.

"We're going to be in Iowa just about every day from now on, when I come back on the 17th," he told reporters. "I may take off a day or two for Christmas."

Thompson is not alone in the Republican field for spending little time in the state in comparison to Democrats. Although the past week has seen visits from Huckabee and Romney, the two GOP candidates who are duking it out for first place, hopefuls like Giuliani and McCain have not set foot in Iowa for weeks.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Huckabee appears to suggest God, religion and the power of prayer are responsible for his surge in the polls in a YouTube video, which MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews aired this afternoon, from a speech at Liberty University.

[YouTube:NSQNSlUUoOc]

"There's only one explanation for it, and it's not a human one," Huckabee said. "It's the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people and that's the only way that our campaign could be doing what it's doing.

"And I'm not being facetious nor am I trying to be trite. There literally are thousands of people across who are praying that a little will become much and it has, and it defies all explanation. It has confounded the pundits, and I'm enjoying every minute of their trying to figure it out. And until they look at it from a just experience beyond human, they'll never figure it out. And that's probably just as well. That's honestly why it's happening."

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
CONCORD, N.H. -- Chuck Norris believes the hype. First, it was a TV ad. Now, Chuck Norris is hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire for Huckabee. The action star turned cult celebrity will appear with the former Arkansas governor at two events in the North Country towns of Littleton and Berlin on Dec. 15.

The joint appearance comes as Huckabee's campaign prepares to launch it's first TV ad in New Hampshire on Monday. It will be a small buy on WMUR that the campaign says will likely increase over time. Details of the ad were not revealed, though the campaign says it will not be the same as the Chuck Norris or "Christian Leader" spots that have aired in Iowa.
 
Huckabee, now leading the polls in Iowa, has also been climbing in the Granite State. The ABC/Washington Post poll released this week had Huckabee in fourth place with 9 percent.

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann and NBC's Chuck Todd
Add up a death-match contest in Iowa, a massive caucus organization effort complicated by a late date change, and a scoop-hungry press -- it's a recipe for leads that send reporters onto paths even more torturous than the snowy roads of the Iowa countryside. 
 
With 27 days to go, the season for flying allegations of campaign misconduct is officially underway. On Monday, the Clinton campaign alleged that Team Obama was engaging in "dirty tricks," like push-polling phone calls and misinformation. On Wednesday, news came out that a Clinton volunteer in Iowa was distributing the Obama-is-a-Muslim email; the volunteer was later dismissed from the campaign.
 
The newest iteration occurred yesterday, when journalists scrambled after a tip -- courtesy of the Clinton campaign -- that an Obama staffer had misinformed a woman in northeastern Iowa about her precinct location. The claim was made by Jean Heidemann, a retiree and Clinton supporter from the tiny town of Garber. Hoping to put some meat on the bones of the "dirty tricks" allegations, reporters dutifully chased the story down.
 
By her fourth phone call from a reporter, Heidemann had to laugh. "I've never had the media call me before," she chuckled during a phone interview with NBC.

Heidemann says that she had just laid down for a nap when the phone rang on Tuesday afternoon. She says that the man on the phone -- she didn't know how old he might have been -- said that he was calling from the Obama campaign to inform her that her caucus location had been moved to Elkader, 12 miles away from the fire station where she believed that her precinct meeting will be held on January 3. When she asked where exactly in Elkader the caucus would be, the caller replied that he wasn't sure yet. (Heidemann's tiny town of Garber is in the Elkader area.)
 
Then, Jean identified herself as a precinct captain for Hillary Clinton. She says that the caller then immediately hung up.
 
Heidemann does not have a caller ID function on her phone, and she doesn't recall the name that the caller gave her. She says she thought little of the incident until she told the local field organizer from the Clinton campaign, who then raised the alarm. "At first I thought it was a kid pulling my leg," she said.
 
The twist to the story is that her leg wasn't exactly being pulled. Her caucus HAS been moved from the location where it has been in years past, but that change is recent within the last few days. According to Iowa Democratic Party spokeswoman Carrie Giddins, the party made a public list of over 1,700 caucus sites last Friday. But, because of pressure from campaigns and county officials to push that list out as quickly as possible, the party published a list with a few blanks for the 5% or so of caucus sites that have not yet been determined. The precinct where Garber is located is one of those blanks.  
 
Earlier this week -- but probably after Heidemann received the call -- her caucus site had been confirmed; she won't be walking to the fire house where she has caucused in the past, but to the Anchor Inn Supper Club less than half a mile down the road. So, when the caller told her that her caucus would be moved "somewhere in Elkader," he was over-generalizing and -- if he did hang up the phone -- probably less than professional, but, it appears, not incorrect. 
 
The caller "sounded really sincere," Heidemann acknowledged. "But they just didn't know what they were talking about."

Coming to Iowa? With the hunt on for "dirty tricks," make sure you buy a map before you hit the road.

From NBC's Mark Murray
The polls are coming out fast and furious this Friday afternoon... A new Insider Advantage poll of South Carolina (conducted Dec. 3-4 of 421 likely Dem voters) has Obama at 26%, Clinton at 24%, Edwards at 15%, and Biden at 10%.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Forget Hillary vs. Obama, the Ron Paul revolution, and Rudy. Is the rise of Mike Huckabee becoming THE political story of 2007 -- at least as it stands right now?

The latest Newsweek poll of Iowa (conducted Dec.5-6), Huckabee is leading Romney by a whopping 22 points among likely GOP voters, 39%-17%  -- with Thompson in third at 10%, Giuliani at 9%, and McCain at 6%.

In the Democratic race, the Newsweek poll (conducted of 673 Dem voters) has Clinton at 30% in Iowa, Obama at 29%, and Edwards at 21%.

*** UPDATE *** We compared apples and oranges above, due to the placement of the horserace numbers in the Newsweek story. If measuring likely voters -- as was done on the GOP side -- is the standard, then it's Obama 35%, Clinton 29%, and Edwards 18%.

The Clinton 30%, Obama 29%, and Edwards 21% is among registered voters.

From NBC/NJ's Erin McPike
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Romney got aggressive with reporters after a military-focused event early this afternoon. Several times Romney tried to move on from reporters trying to ask follow-ups or not take certain questions in one of the largest and testiest gaggles he's had on the trail. He was deluged with questions about his speech, and specifically about the line, "freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom."

"It was a speech on faith in America, first of all," Romney said. He said he was paraphrasing what John Adams and George Washington have said and added that "For a nation like ours to be great and to thrive, that our constitution was written for people of faith, and religion is a very extraordinary element and very necessary foundation for our nation. I believe that's the case."
 
Near the end of press conference here after an Ask Mitt Anything town hall, he was asked if he thought a non-spiritual person could be a free person, and he returned with: "Of course not, that's not what I said." Pressed again about the freedom requiring religion line, he said, "I was talking about the nation."
 
He was also pressed about the politics of his speech and reiterated, "You know, that's not what the speech was about," and then again said it was about the role of faith in America. Romney was also grilled on the lawn service company that he used at his home in Belmont and how it had employed illegal immigrants, which he came under fire for about a year ago and the problem has since resurfaced.
 
Asked if he should take additional precautions, he said, "It's not something as a homeowner that I'm able to do, and it's not something which is available under our current system in this country."
 
After being pressed again, he turned the question back at the reporter and asked if he should ask every waiter in each restaurant he dines in if they are legal. Romney tried instead to tout his own employee verification system to identify illegal immigrants and suggested that the onus should fall on employers, not homeowners.
 
Romney was then asked about his rhetoric on sacrifices from the American people during war, but a reporter charged that his answer could be expected during peace time and what did he think about war. Romney shot back, "next question."

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
CHICAGO -- Just two days before the Univision debate at the University of Miami, Giuliani spoke out today against recent police violence in Cuba, targeting the Roman Catholic Church and student activists there.
 
"Unfortunately, this shows the true nature of the Castro regime," Giuliani said in a statement. "When churches are tear-gassed and teenagers arrested for wearing wristbands that say 'cambio' the world should see clearly that the time for freedom has come for Cuba."
 
Giuliani told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Thursday, "I consider Castro a murderer" and said he would continue the U.S. government's current Cuba policy.

From NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller
MANCHESTER, N.H. – John Edwards used today's Divided We Fail forum to differentiate himself from his leading rivals, first by poking fun at them and then by drawing policy distinctions on issues important to the group, including health care and Social Security.

"[Barack Obama] wrote an essay when he was in kindergarten talking about how he wanted to be president, and somehow or other that was supposed to be an issue of character," Edwards told the crowd, laughing. "I have to confess on my own behalf -- and I'm sure this is going to subject me to criticism -- but when I was in kindergarten I wanted to either be a cowboy or Superman."

Later, asked by moderator and New Hampshire AARP state president how his health care plan was better than Obama and Hillary Clinton's, he criticized Obama's plan for not covering every American.

"My plan has a mandate. In order to be universal, you have to have a mandate, because if you don't require by law that everyone be covered, everyone will not be covered," he said, adding that some estimates show Obama's plan would leave 15 million people uncovered.

"Between Sen. Clinton and mine, hers is very similar to my plan, but there are some differences," he said. "One of the ones that are relevant for AARP purposes is both of us have savings in Medicare, but she takes the savings out of Medicare and puts them into the universal health care plan. I leave the savings in Medicare, and I made that decision very intentionally because everybody in this room knows how intensely sick Medicare is financially, and I think it is a mistake to create savings in the Medicare system and remove those savings and put them somewhere else."

On Social Security the former North Carolina senator referred to the fact that he has taken some heat on announcing a plan to reform Social Security and reiterated the main facets of that plan.

"What I'm against is, I'm against cutting benefits; I'm against raising the retirement age, and I'm against privatization; I'm against all those things; What I'm for is doing something about the cap on Social Security taxes," he said. "I would not raise taxes on people who earn between $97,000 and $200,000 … I'd create a buffer zone in that area. But above $200,000, yes, subject to the Social Security tax so that millionaires are paying their fair share of the Social Security tax."

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
In Ohio today, Thompson said he was surprised Huckabee was not familiar with the content of the NIE report on nuclear weapons in Iran on Tuesday night.
 
"Not only is Iran probably the major long-term threat to our country, whether or not they have a nuclear capability or a nuclear program, is the most important part of the Iran consideration," he said. "For a presidential candidate not to know that and not to keep up with that, I think is very surprising. So, he'll have to answer to himself what his own sense of priorities are."
 
Thompson was in Columbus this morning to announce his Ohio delegate team. But he definitely had Iowa in his thoughts. "We've got a great, great cross section of Iowans here, of Ohioans here, that are in support (of me) -- I've got Iowa on the mind."
 
Although Ohio is not an early primary state, Thompson said the state is important for Republicans. "It just happens to be a state the Republicans can't win without," he said. "And we know that. And so we are especially appreciative of Ohio."