What this does, at the very least, is raise the question of competence. Did someone fall asleep at the switch?

Bradley's public tone is condescending, sarcastic and above-it-all. He tried to ignore Gore's jabs for a long time but now he has hit back with a vengeance.

If Iowa has this image that we have a squeaky-clean government, this is a few drops of mud. But have we been buried under an avalanche of mud? No. Not yet, anyway.

That's the question. Is there corruption involved? Some improper exchange of favors or anything like that? We don't know that yet. Or is it at best evidence of incompetence -- somebody was simply asleep at the switch?

Iowans tend to like mavericks. Grassley is pretty much a down-the-line Republican, but with a maverick streak.

If he sees himself with a lot of support among religious conservatives, there are people out there already with national records working hard at that. You have Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, Sam Brownback in Kansas, George Allen in Virginia, all from that segment of the party.