We’ll be keeping our eyes on the continuing mystery of who made those phone calls about Romney and Mormonism, but some interesting things are going on among the Democrats.

Jerome Armstrong argues, in effect, there are only two tickets out of Iowa.

If Obama comes in 3rd in Iowa, he’s not recovering. The media will totally write him off, and Edwards will face the task of following up. If Edwards finishes 3rd, he’s done, and Obama will have a one-on-one against Clinton in New Hampshire. If Clinton finishes 3rd, it’s probably better for her than if she finishes 2nd, as then the story will still be a 3-way race (and that probably favors a comeback for her in NH).

You know what? If Hillary wins, there’s only one ticket, and she’s got it. If she comes in third, there’s three tickets.

If I were in charge of Clinton’s efforts in Iowa, and I saw this…

More than 60 percent of those who have identified themselves as Clinton supporters, senior strategists say, have never participated in the Iowa caucuses. It is a far higher share than the campaign had been anticipating, which suggests that many of the reliable rank-and-file Democrats have chosen another candidate. So the Clinton campaign is working to expand its universe of supporters to women who have never participated.

…I’d be nervous. How close to January 3 can we get a weather report?

Mickey Kaus wonders that if in a month or so, it looks bad for her in Iowa, whether she won’t just make the safe move, pull staff and money out of the state, and look to wipe out the opposition in later states, where her numbers are better…