The stakes are increasing in the Nevada Democratic caucus. A resurgent Hillary Clinton has put her sensible pumps down and decided to contest Barack Obama there on January 19, despite Obama’s formidable support from the all-powerful local culinary union. Clinton has led in polls and the union endorsement now gives Obama an expectations problem. If he can beat her in Nevada, and then go on to another victory in South Carolina on January 26, Obama will have re-gained his momentum after Clinton’s miracle comeback in New Hampshire. If Clinton beats Obama in Nevada, she is the new frontrunner. Meanwhile, on the GOP side, it was clear that Huckabee is going to be a force to reckon with in South Carolina. Thompson has that potential too, perhaps simply as a spoiler in the covert service of his friend John McCain. In Michigan, all eyes will be on Mitt Romney’s last stand. I think the race could be tight, and while I also think McCain has the clear advantage (history, bounce from New Hampshire, and the fact that independents and Democrats can vote in the open Michigan primary), I don’t count Romney out in Michigan. Nothing focuses a candidate’s mind like a potential hanging in the morning. Mitt will give Michigan 150 percent over the next three days and an upset is possible. (He should, however, pause briefly in his campaigning to flog whomever the knuckle-headed staffer was who ordered Romney’s South Carolina and Florida television ads pulled after New Hampshire. That move filled the process media up with toxic “Romney pulling out” stories, which are the last thing a campaign making its last stand needs.) EDITOR’S UPDATE, 8:00 p.m.: A senior Thompson adviser emails:
