CANDIDATES DESCEND IN ADVANCE OF FINAL TELEVISED DEBATES IN IOWA

Candidates from both parties are descending on Iowa once again this week in advance of the final televised debates in the state before the caucuses on January 3. The Republicans will meet on Wednesday afternoon and the Democrats on Thursday in Johnston. Each debate is sponsored by the Des Moines Register. The new GOP poll leader, Michael Huckabee, is planning to barnstorm the state today while on the Democratic side, Senator Obama and John Edwards are planning extended tours this week and over the weekend. In a recognition of Mr. Huckabee’s new front-runner status in the state and the waning time before the holidays, Mitt Romney is running the first negative television ad against his stand on immigration. The development brought a swift condemnation from a campaign not even mentioned in the spot — that of Senator McCain. The Arizona senator’s state chairman said the advertisement was another indication that Mr. Romney’s campaign “continues to insult Iowa voters.

GORE SAYS ONLY WAY HE WOULD RETURN TO OFFICE IS IN BID FOR WHITE HOUSE

Vice President Gore has no plans to run for president, but he now says that the only way he would return to public office would be a bid for the White House. He made the declaration in an interview yesterday with CNN on the same day that he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Sweden. Mr. Gore, who won for his efforts to promote awareness of climate change, has not endorsed any Democratic candidate.

CLINTON, BUFFETT HOLD BAY AREA ‘CONVERSATION’

Senator Clinton will appear at the San Francisco Hilton today for what’s being billed as a lunchtime “conversation” with billionaire Warren Buffett. The 77-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman has hosted events for both Mrs. Clinton and her closest rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Obama of Illinois. Tickets for the question-and-answer session, which is expected to raise nearly $1 million for the Clinton campaign, will cost $100–$2,300.

AD WATCH

Mitt Romney, on the ropes after several recent polls have shown him losing ground in the Republican field, is striking back at the surging Michael Huckabee. In a new attack ad running in Iowa, the former Massachusetts governor compares his record on immigration favorably with that of Mr. Huckabee. Mr. Romney accuses the former Arkansas governor of supporting in-state tuition benefits and taxpayer-funded scholarships for illegal immigrants.

Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican of Texas, is launching a new radio ad in the four key early primary states: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. The ad refers to “Dr. Ron Paul” — the candidate is an obstetrician — and touts his plans to make medical expenses tax deductible, to create health savings accounts, and to give doctors the opportunity to negotiate collectively with insurance companies.

After the weekend Obama-Oprah extravaganza, which drew nearly 29,000 supporters in South Carolina alone, Mrs. Clinton is seeking to gain some momentum in the key Southern state with a new radio ad featuring Maya Angelou. In it, the poet refers to the senator and former first lady as a “passionate protector of families” and “my girl.”

ENDORSEMENT WATCH

Mr. Obama today will pick up the endorsement of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a first-term Democrat of New Hampshire, the state’s Union-Leader newspaper reports.

GIULIANI: NEW YORK POLITICS ‘JUST LIKE SAN FRANCISCO’

Mayor Giuliani is arguing that he’s the only Republican presidential candidate well-positioned to win votes in notoriously liberal regions like California’s Bay Area. “I come from an area just like San Francisco,” the ex-mayor said during a swing through the city yesterday. “The breakdown of Democrats and Republicans in New York City and in San Francisco must be roughly about the same. So, I am used to running in a place that is overwhelmingly Democratic and reaching out.”

Calls to cut corporate taxes rarely echo at Haight and Ashbury, but that was the message Mr. Giuliani chose to deliver at a Fog City diner. He said the corporate rate should drop to 25% from the current 35%. “Our corporate tax is too high. It’s driving business out of this country,” he said, adding that Mr. Bush should give the economy a boost by pressing for a cut “right now.”

The former mayor also acknowledged to reporters that he is likely to come up short in some of the early contests.