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Events on the world stage don't necessarily translate into the American political process but they can have a big impact. In December of 2003, Howard Dean appeared headed toward an easy walk to the Democratic nomination. That month, U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein, a major development in a war Dean had based his candidacy on opposing. When Dean claimed that Hussein's capture had "not made America safer," a comment that drew criticism from his primary opponents who wondered aloud about the risk of nominating a governor from Vermont with little foreign policy experience and even less restraint.

A month later, voters in Iowa agreed with those criticisms and sent Dean into a tailspin with a third-place finish. Dean's remarks on Hussein weren't the only reasons for his campaign meltdown of course, but events did contribute to it. It's worth looking at how campaigns handled the news of yesterday's assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto – especially two Iowa front-runners.

Mike Huckabee, who vaulted into a strong lead in the caucus state last month, spent part of the day explaining what he meant when he first responded to news of the crisis. As CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports, Huckabee expressed his "sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan" – a statement that led to questions about what exactly he was apologizing for. The Huckabee campaign clarified his remarks, saying that the candidate "intended to extend his deepest sympathies to the people of Pakistan when he used the word 'apologies.'"

And, when voicing his concerns about what may happen in Pakistan as a result, Huckabee indicated that he was worried about whether martial law in the country will be "continuing" despite the fact it has been suspended for almost two weeks. The campaign again responded, saying, "Governor Huckabee firmly believes that emergency rule/martial law in Pakistan, as a practical matter, should not be viewed as having been completely lifted until the restrictions imposed during that period on the press and judges are removed." It's a lot of parsing, perhaps, but in the last week of the campaign, nearly everything a front-runner says will be under a microscope. For a candidate with little foreign policy experience and almost no policy advisors, those words will be even more finely parsed.

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