Race race

A top staffer for Barack Obama says he needs to perform well in Iowa in order to show Democrats that white voters will support a black candidate. Iowa --- a state that is 94% white according to the 2000 census -- is "the big one," in the words of Obama national field director, Temo Figueroa.

Whitewater whitewash

In New York, Democrats are finished with trying move beyond the scandal over Gov. Eliot Spitzer's improper use of state troopers to keep tabs on his top Republican rival through apologies. Instead, the New York Observer finds that Democrats are attempting to draw a parallel between the persecution of Spitzer and that of the "never-ending" partisan investigations of the Clinton White House.

While Spitzer has yet to personally take part, Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler have made the comparison publicly.