Hillaryland

I haven't been covering the Dems as much because, thus far, it hasn't been as interesting, but here's a few items on Clinton that made me think.

Crazy Dick Morris theorizes that Clinton might in fact benefit from losing early because it would push the (critical) focus onto Obama. (One of the Politico bloggers thinks that it's possible that the recent rumors of disquiet in the Clinton camp may be an attempt to push people to ask if Obama is ready/can win.)

I'm not sure about the theory, but you could read today's attack by a Clinton aide over Obama's drug use as either an element of panic or an element in the Dick Morris theory.

Anyway, the latest polling from New Hampshire definitely shows a tightened race.

(And, while I'm in the area, a funny piece from Ben Smith. Is the collapse in Hillary's "inevitability" taking a chunk out of Giuliani? Without his overriding "I can beat her" argument do Republican voters start to look differently at him?)

Later: Newsday focuses on internal complaints against Clinton strategist Mark Penn.