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The Swamp is one of many blogs for political junkies. If you're on "Obama Watch," don't worry: so are they. There was a bit of irony on the site recently, when a post noted that in a recent Gallup poll, people were asked who they wanted to see elected president in 2008. Thirty-eight percent – the largest percentage of respondents -- said "I don't know." That's more than Hillary (15%), more than McCain (11%), more than Obama (6%). In fact, it's more than all three combined.

This isn't particularly shocking information, of course, given that the election is two years away. It's also something not lost on news producers. Right now, people like Steve Chaggaris, a CBS News producer who focuses on politics, assumes that stories like this one -- about Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack's (heard of him? He's from Iowa) official announcement of a run for the presidency -- are pretty much off the radar of anyone who isn't a political junky.

Nonetheless, says Chaggaris, "you write it because it is news in the political world and you hope that people are going to pick that up." He adds, "but I think most of the country doesn't pay attention until much closer to the election."

But the coverage is coming early this year, in part because the field is wide open, says Chaggaris. That's because there is no sitting president or vice president running and plenty of pols on both sides maybe, sorta, kinda considering runs. "It hasn't been this wide open for, I would say, at least 50 years," Chaggaris says of the race.

That means it's difficult for some candidates to distinguish themselves enough to get national media attention, which is part of the reason they're getting started early – that and the fact that they're going to need more money than ever. Political plotters, says Chaggaris, estimate candidates will need to amass around $50 million to be players in the primaries. That's $10 million more than what the Democratic heavy hitters in 2004 came to the primaries with.

People with tons of campaign cash – even if they aren't making official announcements – are staffing up and getting coverage. Sen. Hillary Clinton, for example, "hasn't come out and said anything about an exploratory committee. And she's hiring people. …She's naming hires for a campaign that doesn't even exist in an exploratory form yet," says Chaggaris.

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