The big story in January will be...

Clark's ascendancy in the race for the Democratic nomination.

From the Washington Post:

Clark is the only candidate moving up in New Hampshire, according to public polls and internal surveys by two rival campaigns, though he trails Dean and Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.). If Clark can overtake Kerry, the retired general could storm into the seven states holding votes on Feb. 3 with significant momentum. With more money than many of his rivals, Clark is planning a sustained media campaign in South Carolina, Tennessee, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arizona for four weeks until those states vote, a top adviser said. The campaign is also planning to buy television airtime in Wisconsin and Virginia. Dean is the only other candidate advertising on television in so many states.

From the New York Times:

General Clark has also earned more in federal matching money than any of the six other candidates participating in that program. In essence, that means that in a little more than three months he has raised more than candidates like Representative Richard A. Gephardt and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman have in nearly a year of campaigning.

In polls in early primary states like New Hampshire, General Clark is closing in on Senator John Kerry, who is running second but is slipping. In South Carolina and Arizona, General Clark is also moving up, and in some states the numbers indicate he is neck-and-neck with Dr. Dean. It is in those Southern states where his campaign is confident that General Clark's military experience will attract independent voters who supported Bill Clinton in the 1990's but who might have defected to George W. Bush in 2000.