It will be an Obama Iowa, with Hillary second and Edwards third. Obama’s appeal to independents proves critical. Biden stays in the race by finishing fourth. The numbers: Barack, 32 Clinton, 26 Edwards, 25 Biden, 11 On the Republican side, if you’d asked me on Christmas Eve, I’d have said Huckabee wins. If you’d asked me on New Year’s Eve, after that odd press conference about Romney and negative advertising, I’d have said Huckabee, his campaign in evident disarray, loses. Somehow, with the clock winding down, Huckabee has found his game again (see his performance on Leno last night). So I have Huckabee pulling it out, with McCain finishing third: Huckabee, 31 Romney, 28 McCain, 14 Thompson, 12 Paul, 8