For the first time in more than a month, John McCain is campaigning in Iowa… but if you blink you’ll miss him.

McCain is here for Wednesday’s Republican debate sponsored by the Des Moines Register. Though he’s added a couple town hall meetings to his schedule, he’ll spend less than 48 hours in the Hawkeye state.

Three week before the caucuses, McCain has all but given up in Iowa. He has just 12 full time staffers here, and no TV ads or direct mail. His cash-strapped campaign is focusing its limited resources on New Hampshire and South Carolina.

McCain is running fourth or fifth in Iowa with poll numbers in the single digits. He has failed to catch fire among social conservatives, and says he’s been hurt by his opposition to ethanol subsidies.

St. Petersburg, FL — Following tonight’s CNN/YouTube debate, the usual group of campaign advisers and political supporters converged on the Spin Room to speak to media on behalf of their candidates. But would they be whistling the same tune when Mike Huckabee supporter, Chuck Norris, entered the room and told them who won?

Rudy Giuliani supporter Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Mitt Romney spokesperson Kevin Madden, and Fred Thompson supporters Rich Galen and former VA Governor/Senator George Allen all try to stand their ground and prove their toughness. We also catch an exclusive glimpse of Allen and Norris greeting one another and admiring each others’ boots…seriously.

Per Jake Gibson, Fox News Political Field Producer

So I’m hanging out with some political types in the hotel bar after the debate tonight and who do I see? Brigadier General Kerr, the man who posed the question CNN ended up apologizing for at the end of the broadcast.

CNN STATEMENT at 1:03 AM
Following the debate, CNN learned that retired brigadier general Keith Kerr served on Clinton’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender steering committee.

CNN Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of the debate, David Bohrman, says, “We regret this incident. CNN would not have used the General’s question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate.”

Prior to the debate, CNN had verified his military background and that he had not contributed any money to any presidential candidate.

Following the debate, Kerr told CNN that he’s done no work for the Clinton campaign. He says he is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans and was representing no one other than himself.

CLINTON CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL @ 1:17 AM

“HE IS NOT A CAMPAIGN EMPLOYEE AND WAS NOT ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE CAMPAIGN.”

per Corbett Riner

It turns out that the openly-gay retired General, Keith Kerr, who harangued the GOP candidates tonight about the need to let gays in the military is an official Hillary Clinton supporter.

Here is a June press release from HRC campaign naming “Keith Kerr, retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve” member of “LGBT Americans For Hillary Steering Committee”

(more…)

Mosheh Oinounou, Malini Bawa, Cristina Corbin, and Shushannah Walshe

St. Petersburg, FL — We are all here, plugged in and set up in the Sunshine State for tonight’s GOP YouTube/CNN debate. Refresh your browsers all night for the latest insights and analysis from the Fox News Political Unit. Below, the unit’s own Cristina Corbin and Shushannah Walshe get ready in the media room.

Politico reported just a couple of hours ago that Rudy took  trips to the Hamptons with Judith Nathan, while he was still married to Donna Hanover, and that the NYPD security detail was paid for out of obscure city departments.

Tonight is the CNN/Youtube debate in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is sure to be asked more about these trips to the Hamptons.
done

Kudos to Mosheh for grabbing Pete King! A NY republican congressman and Rudy Backer

After criticism that videos of talking snowman dumbed down the first YOUTUBE debate for democrats, republicans now get their turn. Wednesday’s GOP youtube debate in Fla is likly to focus on MIKE HUCKABEE. The frmr Ark Gov is NOW 2ND IN THE SUNSHINE STATE!

In recent weeks the darkhorse Huckabee has also surged into a first place tie with Mitt Romney in the lead off caucus state of Ia. IN FLORIDA Huckabee is also gaining steam according to Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion Research poll taken 11/25&26 among 675 likely voters w/ MOE +/- 3.5%

Rudy Giuliani (26%)
Mike Huckabee (17%)
John McCain (13%)
Mitt Romney (12%)
Fred Thompson (9%)

The GOP nomination is up for grabs, no question.

Giuliani’s national frontrunner status is at risk if he loses too many early states.  His campaign considers Fla a must win. When it comes to being the conservative “anti-rudy” his rivals can each say they have a shot at winning one of the lead off early races.

-Huck is moving in Ia & Fl.
-Mitt still leads in Ia&NH & has $!

-Fred’s up in SC-1st test in south
-McCain’s strong in NH

All that makes Fla MORE important to Rudy. He is counting on the states diversity and large number of NY transplants to make the sunshine state his firewall. Florida votes January 29th. After Ia, NH, SC, NV and MI, but before the huge Feb 5th Super Tuesday primaries.

With 37 days to the first votes the GOP backbiting now resembles 3 dimensional chess, with 5 players… And it HAS turned personal. The candidates use immigration, crime, taxes and spending, and social issues to attack one anothers’ honesty, judgement, experience, truthfulness, principle and trustworthiness.

Each candidate is simultaneously involved in skirmishes with 3 or 4 rivals at a time. While Huckabee’s likely to take heat from several rivals Wednesday, Rudy remains a target as the national frontrunner and Romney is in everyone’s sites as the leader in Ia and NH.

David Borman says CNN received 5,000 You Tube entries. They are culling it to 70 or so you tube questions. All of the candidates supplied their own 30 sec video, each of which will be played during the debate as pacers. Asked if there will be questions from hotdog or a lego person a smiling Borman hedged: “We’re not ruling out questions that are from non-humans.”

He went on to say there will be a few “good songs”, some good production, and then strongly emphasized there are “some VERY HARD questions” on issues of importance to the GOP nomination. Another well placed CNN insider says Anderson Cooper wants to see lots of videos and does not plan to pretend he is an expert. They hope to “carve an editorial path thru the questions” without using a timer or warning lights. Anderson Cooper will handle it and the candidates will be on an “honor system.”

One other Florida point: It is IMPORTANT too that Florida is the only major winner-take-all state before Super Tuesday 2/5. Fla has 113 GOP nomination delegates…the first really big delegate prize toward the nomination. But only half of Fla’s delegates are currently expected to be awarded at the RNC convention. The national GOP plans to dock several states half their delegates for jumping ahead on the calendar. Other states currently at risk of being docked 50% of their delegates: Ia 40, NH 24, SC 46, NV 32, Mi 61. But all of those early states’ delegates are also awarded proportionately. Fla is the first winner-take-all state, so it holds more delegates for its’ winner than IA, NH and SC combined (after thier delegates are apportioned.)

In the end all the early states are expected to have all of their delegates seated. Technically the rules say they are out of compliance and should be penalized, but generally such spats are resolved before the roll call. Democrats are in a similar situation but (unlike republicans who refuse to let their party prevent them from talking to voters) several democratic candidates have signed pledges to NOT campaign in states that are frontloading in violation of DNC rules.

Florida (home of the 2000 recount in which democrats chanted “count every vote”) is essentially being boycotted by democratic candidates because the national party wants to be able to dictate to the state when it may hold its’ primary.

After a few good days in the press following her strong comeback performance at Thursday’s debate in Las Vegas, Hillary’s obviously feeling confident — confident enough to rip into her chief Democratic competitor Barack Obama on the stump.

Picking up the Sheet Metal Workers endorsement in Vegas, she criticized Obama’s health care plan for failing to cover every American, and said she’s sick of Democrats repeating Republican talking points on Social Security.

HRC’s played the frontrunner since she got in the race, rarely even acknowledging that she HAS opponents for the Democratic nomination, much less mentioning them by name. But after getting rave reviews for counter-punching on health care and social security at the debate, Hillaryland obviously feels that its time to go on offense not just against Republicans, but against her primary competitors as well.

Others might have been slaughtered. 6 men played pig pile on the frontrunning female. In last nights debate in Philly, Edwards aim was truest and the caliber was best. Obama promised to turn it on but he was outdone by Edwards. Dodd made muscular case against her on electability. Kucinich has seen a UFO!

Her one glaring error came at the tail end of the two hour debate.

She seemed to signal support for letting illegal aliens get drivers licenses in NY. But then she backed off which prompted her rivals to blast her for avoiding positions. They think her weak spot is candor. They like “calculating, triangulating, opportunistic, disingenuous,” and about thirty euphemisms for LYING. Tonight Obama told her to her face she does not tell the truth!

Republicans will beat her to a pulp in the general election for supporting drivers licenses for illegal aliens. But democrats slammed her for obfuscating. They hit her on SS for not taking a position either. She was accused of being party to Washington corruption and she was accused of being a phony.. They slammed her for voting to designate the Iranian revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, and the hits kept coming.

It was a rough night for her, but be clear: her worst moment was prompted not by her rivals but a moderator question. All but Dodd actually support letting illegals have drivers licenses. She did not make any huge mistakes. She dodged questions and attacks. Does anybody really think Democratic primary voters don’t already know who Hillary Clinton is???? She and her husband have been dodging questions and attacks for decades. NOTHING NEW HERE PEOPLE.

The question is can 6 men convince democrats that just being a Clinton is reason enough to abandon her. Thus far despite tens of millions of dollars and 10 months of non stop campaigning against her..she has a growing lead, organization and war chest. Behind the scenes rival campaigns are appalled at how unsuccessful they have been as a collective to make any attacks stick. Tonight all the campaigns got the memo: nail her credibility and character. It will be hard to keep a unified attack going…they don’t all share a debate stage every night. Truth is if you match them up, no one candidate did better than Hillary. No one candidate beat her. It was the group that on a few occasions got the best of her. But she is still standing. 10 weeks more till the first votes. She’s gonna face much worse before the democratic nomination race is over. Then whoever the nominee is will face the GOP buzz saw. And with this democratic field republicans are salivating. The RNC is out every day or so with an attack on one or all of them…just beginning to stretch those general election muscles.

  The media filing center is a buzz with an anticipated democratic brawl.  Rival campaigns are ridiculing Obama for telegraphing his attacks in the NYT’s.  Why spoil a hit by warning everyone?

The Clinton campaigns Howard Wolfson, Jay Carson, Anne Lewis and others arrived in force to work the press an hour and ahalf before the debate began.  Arriving at the last minute: Obama’s top aides led by David Axelrod,,,along with Edwards top aides led by Joe Trippi and Jonathan Prince.  They both got to the debate site 15 minutes before the show.

Dodd manager Jim Jordan predicts Obama will not deliver the body blows many expect. There is a desire among democrats to really test her, either to get her into fighting condition for the GOP…or to beat her and replace her with a candidate with less baggage.  Edwards aides say he will be blunt direct and tough on Clinton.