As the Democrats get ready to do their debate turn in Iowa this afternoon (2 pm EST), the news is revolving around the lagging campaigns of the two frontrunners, Clinton and Giuliani.
Newsday's Craig Gordon reports here that Rudy plans a big, policy-oriented speech in Florida on Saturday to refocus his campaign on big issues like national security and economy, and away from questions about Judith and his personal finances.
Politico says Giuliani aides "recognize that the extended bickering about immigration between their man and Romney...bogged their candidate down in an intra-party debate they've long sought to avoid." So it's back to basics -- which, for Rudy, is national security.
The Hillary camp, oddly, seems more at sea and more consumed by internal second-guessing, according to this account by Newsday's Glenn Thrush, with some blaming pollster Mark Penn for his "cautious poll-driven approach" and "mistakenly run(ning) Clinton as a de facto incumbent."
They've been trying to make Hillary more likable by bringing out her Mom and Chelsea, trying to emphasize electability issues, calling her a change agent, and intermittently launching negative attacks on Obama. The latter is "expected to continue at today's debate, over his alleged lack of experience and episodes from his Illinois State Senate tenure."
So there it is: Rudy's losing traction so he's going back to issues. Hillary's losing traction so she's going on the attack.