2008 Quick Hits: Hillary gets some love + A big Edwards announcement?

• Charlie Cook of the National Journal has posted a new analysis of the 2008 Democratic field. He specifically touts Hillary as being in full comeback mode, detailing how her poll numbers have gotten better over the last few months. - While Democratic circles are buzzing with speculation that Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois might jump into the race for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, little notice is given to the fact that New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's stock has gone up the most in recent months. - But her rising poll numbers only appear when Obama or Al Gore are not mentioned. She's still the uber-favorite without those two Dem rock stars, but is vulnerable when they're in the race. Yes, Cook does give a nice analysis of Hillary's good news in the polls. But a lot of that good news is based on one big if: If Obama and Gore don't run in '08. Once those two enter the mix, Hillary slips. Cook kind of missed that whole point. You can't assume anything in politics.

• Some controversy hits the McCain '08 campaign. JMac's new campaign manager, Terry Nelson, is the apparent mastermind behind that nasty ad from the Corker Senate folks bashing Dem Harold Ford. You know, the "racist" playboy "call me!" ad. Not much has been made of this yet, but look for this to pop up again if McCain gets the GOP nomination and hits his Dem opponent hard on TV. There's bound to be calls of foul play from the Dems. And what if JMac faces off against Barack Obama? Yikes - too hot to handle that one. You can sure that accusations will pour forth from Obama's camp immediately. Perhaps to BO's advantage, though. The Corker ad, although playing well in "good 'ol boy" Tennessee, was viewed as going too far by many voters sick of negative campaigning.

• John Edwards may try to find a place as a niche candidate with Dem unions just as Hillary is drumming up their support for 2008. Edwards received the Paul Wellstone Award from the AFL-CIO at their big summit today. Edwards will need a big spigot of union cash and a huge supply of sure-thing voters if he wants to compete with H or BO. But he'll need to start his campaign if he expects a rush of support. Could he be preparing to make his '08 announcement on the December 12th edition of Hardball? He's Chris's big guest for the Hardball College Tour that day from JE's home state of NC. You make the call...