Pollspot: Obama Catches Hillary

According to Political Wire, a new USA Today/Gallup poll of New Hampshire voters shows Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama tied at 32%, with John Edwards at 18%.On the Republican side, Mitt Romney leads John McCain, 34% to 27%."Effectively tied for third place are former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, at 11%, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, each at 9%."

Tom Tancredo Drops Out

Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo has dropped out of the presidential race.

Good riddance!

The Secret Life of Bees

ComingSoon is reporting that Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, and Sophie Okonedo have signed on to star in The Secret Life of Bees, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Also, in final negotiations to star in the film are Alicia Keys and Dakota Fanning.

The film is set in 1964 South Carlolina and centers on Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning), who escapes her lonely life and problematic relationship with her father by running away with her only friend (Jennifer Hudson) to a town that holds the secrets to her mother's past. There she is taken in by an eccentric trio of beekeeping sisters (Keys, Latifah, Okonedo).

Pollspot: Getting Down to the Wire

The Iowa Caucus is fast approaching and it continues to look like a 3-way tie between Obama, Clinton, and Edwards for the Democrats. Take a look at some polls courtesy of Politcial Wire:

American Research Group:

The American Research Group released new polls from Iowa and New Hampshire, but both show results very different than almost every other recently published poll.

Democrats:
In Iowa, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads among Democrats with 29% followed closely by Sen. Barack Obama with 25% and John Edwards with 18%. Obama has the softest support in Iowa among Democrats, with 25% of his supporters say they might change their minds.

In New Hampshire, Clinton leads with 38%, followed by Obama at 24%, and Edwards at 15%.

Republicans:
In Iowa, Mike Huckabee leads with 28%, followed by John McCain at 20%, Mitt Romney at 17%, and Rudy Giuliani at 13%. Huckabee's support in Iowa is the softest among Republicans, with 62% of his supporters saying they might change their minds.

In New Hampshire, Romney and McCain are tied at 26% each.

Strategic Vision:

A new Strategic Vision poll in Iowa that also shows the Democratic presidential race in a statistical tie. Sen. Barack Obama leads with 30%, followed by John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton tied at 27%.For Republicans, Mike Huckabee leads with 31%, followed by Mitt Romney at 25%, Fred Thompson at 16%, Sen. John McCain at 8%, Rudy Giuliani at 6%.

CNN:

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows the Democratic race for president in a statistical tie. Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 30%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 28% and John Edwards at 26% -- all within the poll's margin of error of four points.

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee leads with 33%, followed by Mitt Romney at 25%, and Rudy Giuliani at 11%.

Britney's Sister Expecting

Image courtesy of Evil Beet Gossip

Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old younger sister of Britney Spears, has announced that she is expecting her first child.

WGA & the Golden Globes

The Writer's Guild of America has announced that they will be picketing outside the Golden Globes ceremony next month. This will lead to quite a different ceremony and many wonder if any actors will show up and cross the picket lines to attend the ceremony. The WGA strike is now in its 7th week.

Pollspot: Iowa, NH, and National

While Senator Clinton has lost some of her power since I've been away in Europe, I still believe that she can and will win the Democratic Party's nomination. More importantly, I still believe in her. Here are some polls courtesy of Political Wire:

Iowa:

The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Sen. Barack Obama leading the Democratic field with 33%, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 29%, Edwards at 20% and Gov. Bill Richardson at 8%.

Key finding: "Each of the leading contenders appears to enjoy distinct advantages. More of Obama's backers said they are certain to participate than did those who have gotten behind Clinton. But Clinton's supporters are the most committed and enthusiastic, and Edwards counts among his supporters experienced caucus attendees who are more likely to turn out again."

New Hampshire:

A new CNN/WMUR poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton regaining her lead in New Hampshire -- thanks to a boost in support from older Democratic voters. Clinton leads with 38%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama with 26% and John Edwards at 14%.

In the Republican race, Mitt Romney is still out in front with 34%, followed by Sen. John McCain at 22% and Rudy Giuliani at 16%.

National:

A new Reuters/Zogby national poll shows Mike Huckabee surging into a virtual tie with Rudy Giuliani in the Republican presidential race. Huckabee is now just one point behind Giuliani, 23% to 22%.

Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Clinton's national edge also shrunk, though she's still eight points ahead of Sen. Barack Obama, 40% to 32%.

Journeys with John: Athens

November 30th - December 2nd, 2007

This concludes the Journeys with John series. I return to the United States this week.

Journeys with John: Rome

Journeys with John: Venice

November 20-21, 2007

Journeys with John: Prague

Nov 15-19

Journeys with John: Paris

November 8-11th, 2007

Journeys with John: Salzburg, Austria

Nov 1 - 4 2007

Journeys with John: Brussels

10/18/07

Journeys with John: Barcelona

10/10-10/13/2007

Journeys with John: London

10/2/2007 - 10/10/2007

Journeys with John: Berlin

September 28-30

Journeys with John: Glasgow/Edinburgh

September 21-23

Sherri Shepherd is a Half-wit

The new host Sherri Shepard was on "The View" today. No I don't watch the show but I do love video clips of people making idiots out of themselves. Here's Sherri unsure whether the Earth is flat or not.

Photo courtesy of dlisted.com

Evel Dick Wins Big Brother 8

Although our obsession with Big Brother 8 has decreased considerably since we all went off to school for the semester, I've still been checking out the blogs to see who would win this season. And the votes are in: "Evel" Dick Donato won the $500,000 over his 20 year-old daughter Danielle, who walked off with $50,000. Despite coming into the Big Brother house as an estranged father and daughter , Dick always made it clear that his goal was to bring Danielle with him into the final 2, and make sure she got some money out of the deal. While I can't agree with his antics on the show, I can at least say that his intentions toward his daughter seem to have been good.

Thanks EW for the photo.