The devils in the details

BayWindows.com – by Laura Kiritsy – associate editor

With the Iowa caucuses (Jan. 3) and the New Hampshire primary (Jan. 8) just around the corner, you can’t flip on the television, pick up a newspaper or log on to YouTube without encountering images of a weepy Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton trying to soften her edges or Rudy Giuliani perusing holiday tchotchkes at a barn in New Hampshire. The pundits are opining endlessly over minutia like whether the fact that John Edwards prefers campaigning in jeans or that Mike Huckabee used to be fat will help or hurt their chances in the presidential sweepstakes. And what of the impact of Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama? We’re guessing it’s got more heft than Sen. Joe Lieberman’s nod to candidate Sen. John McCain and Clinton’s endorsement from Babs combined. Obviously, we’re just as guilty of contributing to the media cacophony, especially given the fact that Massachusetts voters will be going to the polls on Feb. 5, about month earlier than we usually do.