After Iowa Debate Obama Rises Both In Focus Groups And Iowa Poll

The last Presidential Debate before the Primaries and caucases was held today and by the Dems. It's a contest that caught the West Coast off-guard as it happened during working hours.

What we missed was a performance which featured Senator Barack Obama getting in what turned out to be the ultimate sound-bite.



It started as Senator Obama was asked why he had so many former Clinton advisors on his foreign policy team and how would that cause him to really bring change. But before Obama could talk, Senator Clinton was heard with her now-famous cackle stating "answer that" and Obama did; he got in this zinger:

"And Hillary, I'm looking forward to you becoming my advisor as well."

Pow. Right between the eyes. You could say she walked right into that one.

The debate overall was a good policy exchange which saw Obama emerge as a leader. Plus, Senator Clinton did not make enough of a difference to change her sagging fortunes before the Iowa Caucus. Senator John Edwards performed well, but it's not believed well enough to turn the tide totally in his favor. It's still a close race, but vastly different than even a month ago.

Now, Senator Obama's top dog in the Des Moines Register's latest poll. Plus, in another poll, the Newsweek Poll shows Obama's lead actually increased to 35 percent versus 29 percent for Clinton.

Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee's leading amoung Republicans and my guess is because he's the one that seems less threatening. Giuliani's off-politics antics make him seem less presidential. Ron Paul's still a bit too extreme for Republicans. And Mitt Romney - in my view -- comes off as both way too high-brow and mean-sprited. Huckabee seems to be the mostly likeable candidate for the Republicans.