The Associated Press just wrote an excellent summary of where things stand in the presidential elections. A few key excerpts:
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Exhausted and frustrated by a campaign gone suddenly wrong.After the jump, McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani.
BARACK OBAMA: Obama told reporters Monday that he hopes Feb. 5 will effectively decide the race in his favor.
"The February 5 states, we want to win all the states. And then after that, hopefully I have enough delegates that I win the nomination and I go to the convention."
With Iowa in his pocket and New Hampshire apparently next, he's taken big steps in that direction.
JOHN EDWARDS: Yet Iowa, where Edwards edged Clinton for second place in the party caucuses, was always considered a better state for him than New Hampshire. Edwards' aides braced themselves for a likely third-place finish here Tuesday.
Their hope is that Obama beats Clinton soundly enough to mortally wound her campaign. Under that scenario, which some might consider wishful thinking, Edwards would survive at least through the spring.
JOHN MCCAIN: The Arizona senator's candidacy hangs in the balance in New Hampshire.... A loss would essentially end his bid, making it impossible to raise money. A win would be a stunning comeback.
MITT ROMNEY: He got a shock last week in Iowa, but now Romney's found the groove he thinks can win him the nomination — regardless of whether he comes in first or second in New Hampshire.
MIKE HUCKABEE: While Huckabee does not expect to do better than third in New Hampshire, he believes his chances are strong in South Carolina, where, like Iowa, Christian conservatives dominate Republican primary votes. Support from evangelicals pushed Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, to victory in Iowa.
RUDY GIULIANI: The former New York mayor visited a diner and held a series of town hall meetings on Monday in New Hampshire, a state where he once challenged Romney's lead in polls.
But Giuliani is not expected to do well Tuesday. Polls indicate he may come in fourth behind McCain, Romney and Huckabee — or even lower — after coming in sixth in Iowa last week.
