Three Weeks Out

Two key polls in the Democratic primary states, three weeks out...

A new Newsweek poll of Iowa caucus voters shows Sen. Obama bounding ahead of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards...

Obama: 35%
Clinton: 29%
Edwards: 18%
Richardson: 9%
Biden: 4%
Kucinich: 0%
Dodd: 0%
Gravel: 0%

The latest poll out of New Hampshire shows Barack Obama besting Hillary Clinton in that state's Democratic presidential primary. The Senator from Illinois leads the former first lady by one-point, 31% to 30%.

While that's a statistical tie, the deeper numbers are bad news for Sen. Clinton: Overall she has lost 5% of her support in NH since last month, while Sen. Obama has gained 8%; and Clinton's support among New Hampshire women has plunged 10 points.

Is Obama gaining his momentum at the right moment? Or is he peaking early, causing an underdog (like, say, Biden) to sweep in and surprise everybody?

We're just weeks away, so we'll see.