December 17, 2007	Monday	Zilhaj 6, 1428

DES MOINES (Iowa), Dec 16: Barack Obama is hitting his stride, just as Hillary Clinton’s Democratic campaign stutters, setting up a closely fought sprint to January’s first White House nominating contest.

With the race a statistical dead heat in Iowa, before the crucial nominating caucuses on Jan 3, and a dogfight in New Hampshire, which votes five days later, both candidates launched one last push to win over undecided voters in Iowa amid freezing winter weather.

Most surveys show Obama rising, and the long-time frontrunner sliding, suggesting that the young senator’s timing may be spot on.

Clinton, forced earlier to deny her campaign was in disarray, got a much-needed boost on Saturday, winning the coveted support of the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s only state-wide daily.—AFP