THE SUNDAY RASMUSSEN tracking poll showed some interesting results. John McCain was in the lead with 17 percent of the vote. It was the first time all year that McCain led the poll. Careful observers will note that on Sunday, the year 2007 was 364 days old. Years don't get much older than that. Romney and Huckabee trailed McCain by a single point at 16 percent, and some guy named Giuliani stood at 15 percent. Fred checked in with 12 percent.

My apologies. That crack about Rudy wasn't fair. But his plan to win the nomination--get beat like a rented mule for the first month and then win Florida--was so half-baked and poorly conceived, the people who came up with it should have their licenses to politically consult suspended through the 2012 election. At least. Make a list of those consultants' names. They are the Ed Rollinses of tomorrow.

So what do the numbers mean? First, an easy conclusion--the spotlight has not been Mike Huckabee's friend. He has come across like an aging starlet--attractive at a distance, but up close in front of the klieg lights... I still think he's losing a point or so a day in Iowa, and the scant data we have doesn't disagree. Huckabee will have a very tough time holding on in Iowa. He actually seemed a little testy yesterday on Meet the Press when discussing Mitt Romney. It's the first time we've seen Huckabee do anything other than affability.

Then again, Romney seems to have that effect

"Welcome to the arena," McCain snickered. "I didn't say those words. Those were the Concord Monitor's words."

"Well wait a second," Stephanopoulos interrupted. "You paid for people to see those words calling him a phony. Do you think he's a phony?"

McCain: "I paid for the ad to put up the words of the respected newspapers here in the state of New Hampshire and I think that's perfectly appropriate. Look, we're not going to get in a back and forth with Mitt Romney. We're going on with our campaign. I'm talking about the future ... We're moving on ... Frankly the voters of New Hampshire don't like this kind of negative campaigning, and they reject his negative ads."

Stephanopoulos: "So you think he's a phony or you don't?"

McCain: "No, I think he's a person who's changed his positions on many issues and the voters know that and they'll decide that, and I'll continue to quote from respected newspapers if necessary."

McCain's decision to launch an attack on Romney that was purely ad hominem was a curious one. If he wanted to substantively attack Romney, there are scores of YouTubes lying around that are ideal for such a purpose. It's almost as if McCain's personal animus for Romney overwhelmed his judgment. He just couldn't resist calling Romney a name. Additionally, McCain's usage of a liberal newspaper as a surrogate will reinforce his longtime doubters' impression that the senator is a little cozier with the media than a Republican ought to be.